Superior
by castor442
Summary: "Both of you have pissed off enough people to make up a medium sized country and killed enough to make another. And now a couple of those people are coming after your younger siblings to make a point. You do not get to be angry at each other. You brought this on yourselves". Stefan has to leave town for some time to avoid being used as bait for Damon but he doesn't want to
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: Story is for LJ Smith and CW, not me_

 _Warning: May or may not contain spanking later_

* * *

 _"Did you tell him?"_

 _"No I didn't tell him Ric"_

 _"He's scared"_

 _"Shut up Klaus. I'm not scared"_

 _"Then what the hell are you waiting for? You're making him leave in two days and you still haven't told him. He needs time to get ready Damon. Pack a bag, what clothes to take, what music. All that teenage stuff"_

 _"I took care of that. Already packed a bag. Stefan doesn't like music too much. It's all taken care of"_

 _"You don't think Stefan would notice if some of his clothes are missing?"_

 _"I bought him new ones. And shoes and sweaters and jackets and everything else he'll need. Hell, I even bought him new underwear. I told you Ric, I've got it covered"_

 _"Yeah, everything except telling him"_

 _"You don't get to criticize me Klaus. Elijah's doing all your dirty work for you. You don't have to face Kol and tell him that because you pissed off some people, they are coming for you and they will use him to get to you. I don't have an older brother to do it for me so you shut up and let me deal with Stefan the way I want"_

 _"I'm not the only one that pissed them off. You did too and…"_

 _"Guys, guys, stop it. Stop this. Both of you have pissed off enough people to make up a medium sized country and killed enough to make another. And now a couple of those people are coming after your younger siblings to make a point. You do not get to be angry at each other. You brought this on yourselves. Now Damon school has been out for about fifteen minutes. Stefan should be home anytime now. I would tell him if I were you. It's no good to procrastinate"_

The front door opened and Stefan stepped into the room. He didn't need to bother with the keys. He knew Damon was home. Damon had heard the front door open.

" _I think Stefan's home. I'm gonna go talk to him. I'll talk to you guys later"_

 _"Wait, wait, wait. Don't hang up. We want to hear"_

 _"No way am I letting you listen to that conversation, Klaus. Elijah would tell Kol the same. Go listen to that"_

 _"Spoilsport. I knew you were scared"_

 _"I AM not scared of anybody. And if you say that one more time…"_

 _"Damon just go talk to your brother already"_

 _"This is not over Klaus"_

Damon stalked over to the living room to see Stefan just closing the front door. "Hey Stef. How was school?"

 _"How was school? Totally digressing"_

 _"How many times do you have to hear shut up before you do it, Klaus?"_

Stefan dumped his bag and then himself on the couch before looking at his brother. "Lets see. I wrote my thousandth history test, my math teacher yelled at me and I nearly got detention for not paying attention in art class. What do you think? How does that sound?"

"Ok I get it. Your day was boring. But that's why I make you take different subjects when you start high school again. So you can have a little variety. You have Italian now and French in your last high school. And music and art"

"Damon, you taught me Italian when I was four. And French after that. I can play the guitar and the piano. And my drawing skills are abysmal. I don't enjoy it" Stefan eyed his brother suspiciously. "Why the questions anyway? You didn't seem that interested before"

 _"This is more fun than that show Kol tried to get me to watch"_

Damon thought this was a good a time as any to drop the bomb. "You'll be leaving town for a couple of weeks. Something's come up and it's not safe to be here anymore". Stefan laughed. Damon was surprised. He expected screaming and then pleading and then screaming again, in that order. But not laughter.

" _That went well. Boring actually. Maybe I should have watched Kol's ridiculous show"_

 _"No. That went too well"_

 _"What do you mean too well?"_

He looked skeptically at Stefan. "You're laughing"

"Of course I'm laughing Damon. I needed that. It's been a shitty day" Stefan stood up to go to his room

"You think I'm joking? Stefan, I'm serious. You **will** be leaving town for some time. You'll be staying with some friends of mine until it's safe to come back"

 _"Aaannd, we are back online"_

 _"I told you it went too well"_

Stefan looked dumfounded. "You don't have any friends"

"Apparently I do or you wouldn't be going to stay with them"

 _"3...2...1..."_

 _"And here we go"_

"What! Why the hell do I have to go away? I haven't done anything to put my life in danger so whatever this is, it's not about me. I would bet my life that you went and pissed someone off royally and now they want revenge and you want to send me away because you think I'll be caught in the crossfire. Well guess what, brother; I can take care of myself. Whatever mess you got yourself into, clean it up. Because I'm not going anywhere and you can't make me" Stefan ranted. Then he turned on his heel and blurred up to his room leaving his brother gaping after him.

Damon heard the door slam shut. He picked up his phone. " _I think that went well"_

 _"Dude, that was terrible"_

 _"It was fun"_

 _"It was, wasn't it? Oh Elijah said to tell you he'll be out of town today so you should tell Kol in his stead. How's that for fun?"_

 _"Wait what?"_

 _"Have fun Klaus. I know I did. Klaus?"_

 _Silence_

 _"You lied, didn't you?"_

 _"He was bugging me"_

 _"You know he's going to kill you"_

 _"I don't care. Look Ric, I hate to cut this short but I need to go talk to Stefan. See you later buddy"_

Damon entered Stefan's room to see him sprawled face down on the bed. He took a deep breath and closed the door behind him.

"I'm not going anywhere" Stefan mumbled into his pillow

"Oh you're going. There's nothing you can do about it. And that tantrum down stairs? I'll let it go this time" He sat beside him on the bed. "And it's not just you. Klaus is in trouble too. That means Kol also has to disappear. But they have a choice I don't. They have daggers. They are going to dagger Kol and keep him in a coffin. You I can't dagger so I have to send you out of town"

 _Silence_

"Stefan?" He was getting frustrated with the silent treatment. "Stefan, come on say something". Stefan just got up and went to his bathroom, leaving a perplexed Damon behind. He hurriedly sent a text to Kol and waited for the reply. When the reply came a second later, he turned on the tap.

It took Damon a moment to realize that the tap had been running too long. He became suspicious. He knocked on the bathroom door impatiently. "Stefan what are you doing in there?"

 _No answer_

"Stefan come on open the door or I'll break it down" he threatened. After several tries without a response, Damon kicked the door open to find a wide eyed and guilty looking Stefan on the phone. "Who are you talking to?" Stefan shook his head. Damon snatched the phone from his ear and looked at the screen. The other person had been smart enough to hang up. He looked at Stefan again. "What did you do, Stef?"

"The right thing"

"The right…." Damon quickly went through dialed numbers and looked at his brother incredulously. "You called Kol? What did you tell him? Stefan what did you do?" Damon asked shaking his idiot of a brother.

"The truth" Stefan wheezed through rattling teeth. "I told him the truth"

"You told him… Jesus Stefan, do you know what you've done?" Damon asked, incensed. He pushed Stefan into the bedroom and in a no nonsense voice, told him to stay put if he didn't want any more trouble. He dug out his phone and called Elijah, hoping he wasn't too late. About an hour later, he came back into Stefan's room. "I fixed it. I called Elijah and they found Kol before he could leave Mystic Falls. Do you know how stupid that was, Stefan? You could have gotten Kol killed" He sighed and got up. "Get some sleep baby brother. We are leaving tomorrow"

"Wait _wha_ t?"

"You were supposed to leave in two days but I'm bringing it forward. We leave tomorrow" He tossed the phone at him. "You can call your friends. They can come over and say goodbye. It's more than Kol got"

Stefan looked down guiltily. "Why are you sending us away? I mean I know you probably think I can't handle whoever is after you but why Kol? He is an original. The only things he can't handle are his elder siblings. And last time I checked they were not trying to kill him. Why must he be daggered?"

"Kol's already been daggered" Damon said, packing Stefan's laptop into a bag. "I didn't say Klaus and I pissed off vampires. I pissed off a vampire. Klaus pissed off a witch and not just any backyard one. She's no Bennett but she's fairly powerful. That Kol might not be able to handle. And might is a big gamble so he had to be protected"

"I'm sorry"

"Caroline, Elena, Tyler, Matt and Jeremy would be here soon. Bonnie will be coming with us tomorrow so she doesn't have to be here. I'll just text her the change of plans" Damon walked towards the door, throwing over his shoulder "There's no need for specifics. Tell them it's not safe for them to know where you're going"

"And where's that?"

"Forks, Washington"

* * *

 _I know I shouldn't start a new story but I couldn't resist. Please review and let me know if I should continue or not_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of the vampire diaries or twilight. They belong to Stefanie Meyer and LJ Smith**_

 _ **Warning: Will contain spanking**_

 _ **In the twilight verse, the Cullen kids would be close, but only as siblings would. They would not be mates or lovers. They would just be eternal teenagers.**_

* * *

"Are they here already?" Emmett asked excitedly, bursting into the living room to Esme's chagrin, though she chuckled amusedly.

"Slow down Emmett" she chided "Sometimes I don't know who the youngest is, you or Edward. Even he is not jumping around"

"That's because I'm not excited that they're coming at all" Edward replied surly

"Aww, not getting jealous are we? Scared about the competition?" Rosalie teased

"I'm not scared of anybody. And I'm not jealous" Edward scoffed at Rosalie. When she smiled indulgently he knew it was a trap and he had fallen straight into it. "Just…go away Rosalie" he said and stomped off to his room.

Rosalie and Emmett erupted into laughter until their mother came out of the kitchen and glared at them. Emmett raised his hands in surrender "It was nothing mom, just some harmless teasing. He'll be fine". Just then Alice and Jasper came in, carrying a lot of bags. Alice glared at Rosalie and Emmett "Thanks for the help guys. It was greatly appreciated" she said sarcastically

"Sorry Ali"…"Sorry Jazz" Rose and Emmett said simultaneously. Emmett grabbed some of the bags from Alice while Rosalie helped poor Jasper, who couldn't see in front of him. "We were just excited about them coming, that's all. We thought they had arrived" Emmett explained

"We're all excited Em. We've never met any of the original type before. I wonder what they'll look like" Alice said, turning into an empty room. It was painted a light shade of green.

"Green? Really?" Edward scoffed, leaning against the doorframe. "What a pansy!"

"It's his favorite color" Alice defended "Besides, mom did this room. You want me to tell her that it's for 'pansies'"

Rosalie laughed at Edward's wide eyes. "That's twice in five minutes Eddie. I like this guy better every minute. He's not even here yet and you're already crumbling"

"Take this to mom. She's in the kitchen" Alice said to Edward, handing him about four bags. He looked inside it.

"Food? Seriously? Vampires don't eat Alice and this is more food than we keep for appearances. What is this for?"

"The original types do. They also burn in the sun, like in the movies, and they need to be invited into homes owned by humans" Alice answered, laying a green duvet on the bed

"They sound like wimps to me" Edward said

"On the contrary, they're quite formidable-very strong and very fast". All heads whipped towards the doorway, where Carlisle stood smiling at his children. There was a chorus of "dad, daddy, papa, pops" before he was pounced on by his youngest.

"You're back. I didn't hear you come in" Edward mumbled into his father's shirt

"Probably because you were too busy relaying eavesdropped messages" he said, looking at Alice. She dropped her head and mumbled a "sorry" under her breath. "And Edward, what have I said about calling people names?"

"Sorry dad"

"Pops, what did you mean by formidable and strong and fast?" Emmett asked

"What about garlic and crucifixes and wooden stakes? Are they also true?" Jasper asked

Carlisle walked further into the room. "Garlic doesn't repel them. In fact most of them eat it. Neither does crucifixes. Wooden stakes though are true. One in the heart and they're dead"

"They are too easy to kill" Edward snorted

"That is how it seems. But they are not easily killed at all. This is what I meant when I said they were fast and strong. Vampires are fast and strong by design but because they can be killed by something as simple and common as a stick in the heart, their speed and strength are their main forms of defense. Some say they are faster and stronger than even us and are considered the most dangerous of the vampire species"

"So what? You're saying they're some kind of superior vampires?" Edward asked grumpily

"Not exactly. But…"

"I aint buying it" Edward said to his father's mild annoyance

"Would you stop interrupting me?" Carlisle looked squarely into Edward's eyes

"Why?" Rosalie asked. "Why are they considered the most dangerous?"

"Because they look very human" Carlisle started only to be interrupted by Edward again

"We all look human"

"We do. But that's where the similarities end. Our skin is hard and cold. We don't have a heartbeat. We can't feed without changing our appearance or killing our victims, whether it is human or animal. Their temperature is not normal but it's closer to normal than ours. They even have a heartbeat. They blend in with humans almost effortlessly while we require more work. You can hardly tell them apart from the humans. Hiding in plain sight. That is what makes them dangerous" he looked into one of the bags Alice had been carrying. "I'll leave you to finish decorating". And then he left.

Almost immediately Alice started barking out orders. "Edward you were supposed to get this to mom. Go! Emmett there's a box in the car, get it. Rose, help me with this curtains"

"What about me?" Jasper asked

"Do you know how to set up a bar?"

"No. Why?"

"No problem. Here's a manual. And some whisky and bourbon" Alice said, handing the items to a confused Jasper. Rosalie snickered, quickly schooling her features when her sister turned to face her. She cleared her throat and raised the curtains, prompting Alice about what they were supposed to be doing.

Emmett returned with the box, which turned out to be a brand new desktop computer. He set it up on the table in one corner of the room. By the time he was done, Rosalie and Alice had also finished with the curtains and Jasper was done with the mini-bar. Alice clapped her hands in glee at the finished room. "It's perfect"

Just then the phone rung. Esme answered it and spoke to the other person for about three minutes. She hung up and turned to her expectant kids-well except Edward, who could care less. "They're in Port Angeles. They'll be here in an hour". Their shouts of joy put a smile on Esme's face. She didn't have to worry about them playing nice. They already loved him. She looked at Edward, who just scowled and went to play his piano. Esme sighed. Her baby had been feeling this way since they announced that he was going to stay with them. She hoped he got over it soon. She turned to her still shouting children. "Let's go over the rules, shall we?" After a chorus of ''Aw ma''s, she paused. "Ok, Ok. Fine. You know the rules. Don't break them" she said, raising her hands in surrender

"Your mother's right. No breaking the rules" Carlisle said, descending the stairs

"Don't worry pops. We're good kids" Emmett said, winking at Jasper.

Carlisle just shook his head. About forty minutes later, two engine sounds were heard in the distance.

"They're here"

* * *

 _please review_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or Vampire Diaries. Just use them**_

 _ **Warning: Will contain spanking**_

* * *

They pulled in front of the house and Damon shook Stefan awake. He looked blearily at Damon. "What is it?"

"We're here. Come on" he nodded towards the house

Stefan looked at his surroundings. "It's raining" he deadpanned

"No. it's just a drizzle. Now come on, they're waiting for us" Damon urged

Stefan stepped out of the car gloomily. The weather mirrored his mood perfectly. Not even the brand new Ferrari his brother bought for him-the one bonnie just stepped out of-did anything to lift his spirit. He followed Damon automatically to the door.

Rosalie whistled. "A Ferrari! Man they must be loaded"

"And they couldn't afford plane tickets? They have Virginia plates"

"Shut up Eddie" Jasper hissed at his younger brother, who just rolled his eyes. Carlisle started the introductions.

"Kids, this is Damon Salvatore and his younger brother Stefan. Stefan would be staying with us for some time. And these are their friends Alaric, Klaus and Bonnie.

"What kind of name is Stefan?"Edward whispered, though everyone except Bonnie heard him clearly. Stefan glared at him, the veins popping around his eyes. Edward took a step back, startled, and he smirked; though he dropped it immediately when Damon glared at him. Carlisle continued the introduction.

"And these are my wife and children. Esme, my wife, Emmett my oldest, Jasper and Rosalie, the twins, Alice and then Edward, my youngest"

"How old are you Edward?" Damon asked

"17"

"So is Stefan. You two should get along just fine" Damon said. Stefan and Edward just scowled at each other. Damon had seen the looks they were throwing each other. He turned to Carlisle with a smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure Edward likes Stefan as much as he likes him. They'll be fine" He looked at Stefan, smiling in a conversation with Emmett and Jasper and blushing when Alice asked what size he wore. "Is there anything to drink?" he asked aloud

Alaric rolled his eyes. Typical Damon. Can't do without his alcohol for a moment.

"We don't drink. Can't actually. But we got Stefan some whisky and bourbon. You said it curbed the cravings" Carlisle answered

"Such a lucky lad you are Stefan" Klaus said, then "Where is the room?"

Esme chuckled. "Upstairs. I'll show you. Emmett, Jasper, bring the bags up"

Klaus returned with a bottle of bourbon and two glasses, which he plopped in front of Damon. Alaric and Carlisle had disappeared into another room, talking. Ric placed a briefcase on the table. "This is for Stefan. I know you will probably reject it but please humor me. Those two boys are a lot of trouble. You got the 'good' one but just to be on the safe side, take this, please"

Carlisle gave him a confused look before opening the briefcase. It was full of money. He closed it and pushed it back towards Alaric, shaking his head. "I can't take this. I have more than enough and we don't use much, what with no need to buy food and other necessities. In fact I am happy to spend it on Stefan. And about him being a teenager, I have five of my own, three of whom are boys. I can take care of Stefan just fine. I don't need this"

"Damon's going to kill me if you don't take this"

'From what I've heard, you're practically unkillable"

"Just to save me from having to listen to him whine and yap all day, please accept it"

Carlisle chuckled. "Tell you what. I'll hold on to it until the day you come and get Stefan. Then I'll give it back. How's that for a compromise?"

"I like it" Alaric said. "Now, you said something about wolves?"

* * *

Alaric and Carlisle came out of the room to find Klaus sprawled on the couch with half a bottle of bourbon and Bonnie showing her magic to the excited Cullen kids. Even Edward seemed impressed.

"Where's Damon? We've got to go see the wolves" Alaric asked

"He went upstairs with Stefan. Probably to put away his clothes. We all know how good Stefan is at unpacking" he added sarcastically. Emmett laughed loudly at something Bonnie had done and he scoffed. "Show off" he whispered loudly so Bonnie could hear. Bonnie glared at him and he immediately screamed out in pain, clutching his head. When it stopped he growled at Bonnie, who shrugged and gave him an innocent smile, then turned back to the awed Cullens.

Just then Damon came bounding down the stairs with Stefan in tow. "We are going to see the wolves" Alaric said to him. "Bonnie, have you done the spell yet? We'll leave from there. We won't come back here"

"Just a second" Bonnie answered. "Could you lend me a knife?" she asked Alice

"Sure" Alice answered and scurried off to the kitchen to get one

"Wolves? You're going to that part of the forest? Are they expecting you? It could be dangerous" Rosalie said

"Don't worry love" Klaus said smugly, flashing yellow eyes. "They won't hurt us"

"Who's the show off now?" Bonnie muttered under her breath. "Thank you" she said to Alice as she took the knife. She slit Stefan's wrist and let the blood flow into a bowl. She did the same to Damon and then recited a Latin chant. The blood disappeared from inside the bowl to the amazement of Emmett, who whispered a 'wow' under his breath. "I'm done. No one will find you no matter what spell they use. Even GPS tracking will be distorted" she looked at Damon and Alaric. "Let's go"

"Wait. If you're cloaking me then why did you need Damon's blood? Will he forget where I am as soon as you leave here" Stefan asked

"No. he'll remember. But if by any chance he's captured, no one can find the information from his mind. I did two spells at once; a linking spell and a cloaking spell. Damon asked me to link you to him so that he'll know if anything happens to you and come" Bonnie explained. She said goodbye to the Cullens and moved towards the door. Damon, Alaric and Klaus also said goodbye and went outside. When Stefan tried to follow, he found himself blocked. He growled and banged his hand on the invisible barrier, to Edward's amusement.

"Bonnie. What is this?"

"I'm sorry Stefan. It was your brother's idea"

"I couldn't have you following us now, could I?" Damon smirked. Stefan growled and threw the remaining bottle of bourbon at his brother, who caught it deftly and took a swig, all while smirking at him. "Goodbye brother" Damon said and disappeared out of sight, leaving an infuriated Stefan behind.

* * *

Alice smiled at Stefan. "So you start school tomorrow, in the same class as Edward. Do you have all the supplies?" she asked. Esme knew where this was going. If she didn't dissuade Alice now, she would drag poor Stefan on a shopping trip.

"Alice…" she began, only to be interrupted by Stefan

"I think so"

Alice looked disappointed. "Do you have a laptop?" Rosalie asked

"Yes" Stefan answered

"How about pens, pencils, rulers, calculator… you know, all that school stuff?" she pressed

"N-no" Stefan stammered

Alice grabbed her coat and Emmett took his car keys. "We need to get you a printer"

"And some games" Jasper added

"B-but it's past six"

"Ever gone night shopping?" Alice asked

"Come on. It'll be fun" Emmett coaxed. He threw his keys to Jasper and shoved Stefan out the door. "I'll get my jacket" he bounded up the stairs and took his jacket, stopping by Edward's room to drag him out. "Come on baby brother. We're going shopping"

Stefan sat in the back of Rosalie's jeep and Alice rode shotgun. In the back of Emmett's car, Edward scowled at the back of Emmett's head while Jasper drove.

Esme watched helplessly as they floated past her into the cars, Emmett practically carrying Edward on his shoulders. She couldn't stop them and the fact that Emmett and Jasper were going willingly with the girls meant it wouldn't have worked even if she'd tried. She just hoped they remembered tomorrow was Monday and they wouldn't stay out too late. She turned back into the house when a thought suddenly struck her.

"Did they know Stefan had to sleep?"


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries belong to LJ Smith and the CW.**_

 _ **Warning: contains spanking**_

* * *

Carlisle looked at his children sternly. Emmett was looking at the floor, Rosalie and Jasper were looking anywhere but at their father and Alice was twiddling her hands. Only Edward seemed unperturbed, swinging his legs in the chair he was sitting in.

"We're sorry dad. We were just excited that's all" Emmett said

"And we didn't know he needed to sleep" Jasper added

Carlisle sighed. It really wasn't their fault. He hadn't told them. And he was sure Stefan didn't want to be seen as a baby so he also didn't say anything. "It's okay. Just, remember next time okay?!

There was a chorus of "okay and yes dads"

"Can I wake him up?" Edward asked innocently

"Not yet. Let him sleep another thirty minutes. Alice, I'm not asking you to make this permanent but just for today, can you pick out his clothes?" Alice nodded and left. "Emmett, make some coffee and… Edward, go get dressed for school. What are you waiting for?"

Edward got up to go to his room. He was a little annoyed he hadn't been allowed to wake Stefan. That would have been fun. He scowled. Then he had an idea. He tiptoed to Stefan's room. The alarm clock Alice and the others had bought earlier the day before lay on the bedside table. Stefan had probably been too exhausted to set it when they got back from their night shopping. He grinned evilly and set the alarm to ring seven minutes later, rigged it so it couldn't be turned off once it started ringing, then hurried to his room. He dressed quickly and, grabbing his backpack, went back downstairs with an innocent look on his face.

The shrill sound of the alarm jerked Stefan awake and he groaned into his pillow. He groped for the clock to turn the alarm off but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn't top ringing. He growled angrily and threw it against a wall, smashing it. But the harm had already been done. He couldn't go back to sleep although it was the only thing he wanted to do at the moment. He got up and walked dazedly into the bathroom. After a hot shower that did nothing to wake him up, he put on the clothe Alice had laid out for him. He had no idea who put the clothes there but he was grateful someone did. The way he was feeling, if he tried to find himself some clothes, he might end up going to school in his pjs. As he made his way downstairs he wondered which was worse; waking up with a hangover or waking up from too little sleep.

I need coffee" Stefan mumbled as he plopped himself into one of the chairs in the living room. "Please someone" he pleaded. It was then that he noticed Carlisle. "Good morning Mr. Cullen"

Carlisle chuckled. "Please call me Carlisle. How are you Stefan?"

"Sleepy" he answered. He murmured a grateful thank you to Jasper, who handed him a mug of the precious liquid.

"Does that help?" Jasper asked curiously

"You mean does it make me more awake and alert?" Jasper nodded. "No, it doesn't. It's just like a drug. And drugs don't have any effect on us so… But the bitter taste does help though". He looked at the others. "Are we late? Sorry if I made us late. I must have set my alarm wrongly. Though I don't remember setting it at all"

"You must have forgotten" Alice said, glaring at her little brother." But we are not late. You have time to eat breakfast. Where's your bag?"

Stefan looked confused. "Breakfast?"

"Yes. Mom cooked. She had to leave early for an appointment but she made you breakfast before she left. Your brother said your kind ate so…" Rosalie shrugged

"Oh. She shouldn't have. It's true, we can eat. We don't have to but we can. She didn't have to cook"

"See? I told you it was a waste of time. Mom shouldn't have wasted her damn time" Edward sneered

"Edward!" Carlisle admonished sharply. "Besides we cooked for Bella before remember? Should I remind you what happened to Rosalie? Don't push it"

"Sorry dad" Edward mumbled

Carlisle looked at Stefan. "Your brother said it curbed the blood cravings, like the alcohol. Said it also helped with your…problem"

Edward scoffed. "Problem? Is that what we call it now? Let's just say it like it is. He's a fucking blood junkie"

"Edward"… "Eddie" Alice and Emmett said spontaneously.

Edward looked at his father fearfully. He looked annoyed. "I'm sorry. I'll go wait in the car" he murmured quickly but is father was already holding out his hand for his car keys. "Daddy" he whined "Please"

"Would you rather I send you to school with a smarting backside?" Carlisle asked him, still holding out his hand

He gulped and shook his head, fishing the keys out of his pocket and dropping it into his father's waiting hand.

Stefan could tell Edward was embarrassed at the fact that he now knew how he was punished due to the fact that he couldn't look him in the eye whereas a second ago he was boring holes into his skull with his eyes. If only he knew how Damon would've handled it. He smirked at Edward, letting him know that he was enjoying this. He was pretty sure it was him who set the alarm. If he wanted to be annoying he would show him that two can play that game. _Bring it on pal._ Stefan sat at the table and picked up a fork. This was no different than Mystic Falls. Damon also made him eat breakfast and dinner every day, and lunch on weekends. He felt Carlisle kissing the top of his and Edward's heads after bidding goodbye to the others and left for work. His surprise must have shown on his face because he heard Alice chuckle.

"He does that to Edward every day. He's the youngest. Guess the two of you being the same age makes you both the youngest. I wonder which one of you is older though"

"I am" Stefan and Edward both answered at the same time, then turned and glared at each other

"Oh- oh" Rosalie chuckled

"I'm more than fifty years older than you" Stefan stated smugly

"It doesn't work like that" Edward sneered

"Eddie's right. It doesn't matter. You're both 17. You're bot the babies of the family. It doesn't matter which of you was born first" Jasper said trying to diffuse the tension

"Since when is he a part of the family?"

"Since everyone but you realized it" Emmett said, shoving Edward out the door. "Come on. We're leaving"

Stefan suddenly remembered something and shot up from the chair. "My bag…"

"I got it" Alice interrupted. "You didn't answer the first time when I asked so I kinda packed it for you. You looked disoriented"

Stefan heaved a sigh of relief, "Thank you" he breathed

"You're welcome" Alice said.

Rosalie came out of the kitchen, where she had taken the plates. She threw her bag over her shoulder and practically dragged Stefan out the door. "Come on. We're going to be late". She pushed Stefan into the back seat of her car and drove off. Edward rode with Alice, she was the only one other than their parents who could calm him when he was in one of his moods. And Emmett and Jasper drove their cars.

* * *

Stefan yawned again. It was becoming difficult to keep his eyes open. He was extremely glad this was the last class of the day. That meant he only had to endure a few more agonizing minutes of school and then he could go home and sleep. He could almost feel the softness of the comforter. Stefan snapped his eyes open. He had nodded off. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock again. Only three minutes had passed. He groaned. He tried to distract himself by looking around the class. The blond boy in the corner reminded him of Matt. What was his name again? Mike. Mike Newton. And the girl who sat three places to his left reminded him of Caroline, except she had brown hair. Jessica. That was her name. He smiled when he thought of Caroline. Sweet, feisty, blunt Caroline, who chaired all the committees in school and could put someone in their place with all the grace of a popular cheerleader when the moment called for it. And then there was Bella, who reminded him in every way of Elena. The brown hair and eyes. The innocent smile and the fact that they had both dated vampires. Well he was still dating Elena but Edward had broken up with Bella, which was probably a good idea because…

Stefan was snapped out of his thoughts when the bell sounded. He sighed in relief. Funny how time flies when you're not paying attention. He gathered his books and practically flew out the door.

* * *

Esme smiled when he heard the cars in the distance. Her kids were coming home. In a few moments their excited chatter and laughter would fill the house. She wondered about the newest addition to their family. How had Stefan's day been like? Did he like forks? It couldn't be compared to the sunny Mystic Falls but it was not that terrible. She hoped the lack of sleep hadn't bothered him too much at school. She was shaken out of her thoughts when the front door opened and Emmett came in carrying Stefan. Esme was immediately alarmed. She began looking Stefan over worriedly.

"What happened? Is he hurt?' she asked frantically

"Relax mom. He's not hurt. He fell asleep in the car on the way home" Emmett placated, placing Stefan on the couch. His head lolled to one side and he let out a shuddering breath. Then with a small smile his breath evened out and he was fast asleep.

"Awww. It's adorable" Alice cooed

"Now I understand why you always watched Bella sleep, little brother. It's cute" Rosalie added

Esme rolled her eyes at their antics. She pulled off Stefan's shoes, shut the drapes and let the sleeping boy snooze in peace.

When Carlisle pulled up at the house about three hours later, the lack of sounds unnerved him. No music from Edward's room, no bickering sounds, no video game noises, nothing. He drew up two conclusions; either his children were being very good today or they got into some trouble and at least one of them was nursing a sore bottom. He however knew his children. They were never 'that' good. And since that left option two he was afraid of finding out what it was they had done this time. He stepped into the house apprehensively. The sight that met him however was not one he expected. Far from it.

Emmett and Jasper were playing a video game with the volume off. _That's new._ Alice and Rosalie were poring over some fashion magazines on the floor and Edward was doing homework at the table. Wit, _what?_ Edward was doing homework at-he checked his watch- 7:14? He usually did it late at night or very early in the morning. And even then it was at his or Esme's insistence. It looked like they hadn't noticed him. He cleared his throat and five heads swiveled to look at him.

Edward suddenly flung himself at his father. "You're home"

Carlisle patted his back absentmindedly. "What's going on?"

Edward leaned back to look at his father. "What do you mean?"

"You're doing homework"

Emmett laughed. "That's because…"

"Shut up Em" Edward hissed

Carlisle raised his eyebrows. "Because what?"

"He was bothering Stefan so mama smacked him a couple of times and told him if he was so idle and bored he should get started on his homework" Jasper explained

"It was more than a couple. It hurt" Edward pouted

"What do you mean 'bothering Stefan'?"

"Stefan fell asleep in the car on our way home from school so Emmett brought him in and placed him on the couch. Mom said we had to be quiet so he could catch up on the sleep we denied him last night when we took him shopping. But Eddie did not listen. He kept on 'accidentally' banging against the couch and dropping stuff noisily and even playing the piano until mom got fed up. When she asked him to stop he said he was bored. So she smacked him and told him to do his homework early" Rosalie explained to their father

Carlisle sighed in exasperation. "Why would you do that Edward?"

"He said he was bored" Alice chimed

"Bored?" Carlisle intoned. "You were bored? You disturb someone's sleep and peace because you were…bored?"

"He was jealous" Rosalie teased

"I was not" Edward growled

Esme's timely arrival prevented the argument that almost broke out. She kissed Carlisle n the cheek and turned to Edward. "Are you done with your homework?" she asked with a raised eyebrow that sent Edward scampering back to the table, head bowed over his trigonometry homework. She looked at Stefan, then at her husband. "I don't think he's going to wake up anytime soon. We should get him to his room"

"I got it" Carlisle said, scooping Stefan up and climbing the stairs. Emmett and Jasper were so engrossed in their game they didn't even notice the absence of their parents and Stefan, Edward scowled at his parent's retreating backs and Alice and Rosalie raised their heads long enough to mumble a goodnight to Stefan and then dived back into their magazine. Carlisle settled Stefan in his bed and practically tucked him in, taking off his jeans and shirt and replacing them with his pjs. Finally, he turned off the light and shut the door quietly, leaving Stefan to sleep in peace.

* * *

 _I'm sorry about the late update. I had all this and safe haven and a new story all typed up and then there was a mishap and I lost them all. I managed to type this again from memory but I'll have to wait another few days before the others can be emailed to me from home. (I have a backup). Once again I apologize for the late update. Please review_.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The characters of the vampire diaries and twilight belong to LJ Smith and Stephanie Meyer

Warning: Will contain spanking

* * *

Carlisle rubbed his temples and sighed in exasperation when he heard the sound of Emmett's jeep in the distance. Edward and Stefan were at it again. Edward was still grounded out of his car and Carlisle wanted Stefan to have a feel of the road to school and all its back alleys and short cuts before he drove his Ferrari so they had been taking rides from the elder siblings. But they were never both in the same car until today. It was probably because Emmett was the most likely to break up a fight when their verbal war escalates. It was only the sixth day since Stefan had come to stay with them and he had already broken up too many almost fights it felt like a month already. Seriously he thought they would get along better than the rest of his children, being the same age and all. He had thought and thought and he couldn't come up with a good reason why they disliked each other so much. Sure Edward had been the baby of the family and everyone spoiled him rotten but that hadn't changed since Stefan's arrival so that could not be it. Then what was it? He didn't have time to deliberate on the issue as that exact time Emmett's jeep pulled into the driveway. He sighed again when Stefan blurred out of the car and into his room before Emmett had fully parked. Looks like Edward won this round, he thought. A gleeful snicker from downstairs proved him right and he sent Edward a thought telling him to can it. Edward and Stefan had a war of pranks( for lack of a better word) of sorts going on and from what he had heard Edward started it when he rigged Stefan's alarm on Monday.

The next day, Stefan put dye in Edward's shampoo. It was a rather hilarious sight when Edward screamed and marched half naked into the kitchen practically burning with wrath with bright green hair. Rosalie and Alice slapped a hand over their mouths to stop the laughter threatening to spew forth so as not to anger their already pissed off baby brother. Emmett though could care less as he laughed heartily. Stefan had turned around in his chair and looked at Edward with a surprised and innocent

 _"What happened to you?"_

Edward sputtered angrily as he lunged for Stefan. "You did this. I know it, you fucking..."

 _"That's enough Edward. Watch your language. One more curse out of your mouth and I'll wash it out"_ Esme threatened

 _"He put dye in my shampoo!"_

 _"You don't know that"_ his mother admonished. _"Now go get dressed. You're going to be late"_ she added, shooing him towards his room

Needless to say it had taken a lot of cajoling and pampering on Esme's part before Edward agreed to go to school that day and even then he had worn a beanie.

As payback, on Wednesday Edward had vervained Stefan's breakfast. He knew it burned but he didn't know that the right dose could knock Stefan out. They didn't know that much about the original vampires anyway so when Stefan took a sip of his coffee and almost immediately went unconscious, it spread panic around the Cullen household. Carlisle remembered the panicked phone call he received at work that morning.

"Mr Cullen, it's your wife. Looks like something happened to one of the kids" Nancy said, handing Carlisle his cell phone. He had barely said hello before Esme's worried voice came over.

"Carlisle it's Stefan. He just passed out and he won't wake up. Is that supposed to happen? I mean they are different from us and..."

"Esme, Esme, calm down. Tell me what happened" Carlisle soothed his distraught wife

"I-I made breakfast -pancakes- and coffee. He t-took a sip of the coffee and made this choking sound like he couldn't breathe. Now that I think about it he was trying to say something. Ver something... Oh god Carlisle you don't think he meant vervain?" her voice dropped to a whisper. "We don't even have any of that around. How would it get into the cof... No. I'm going to strangle him. I'm going to..."

"Esme, what are you thinking"

" I think Edward did it. You know he and Stefan don't see eye to eye and he was helping me with breakfast this morning. Oh Carlisle what if he doesn't wake up? What if he's dead? How do we explain that?"

"He's not dead Esme. Only a stake to the heart can kill him. It's just the concentration of the vervain and Stefan's animal diet. He'll come around in about an hour. It's not a busy day today. I'm on my way"

It had taken Stefan almost two hours to come around and those two waiting hours had been spent alternating between scolding Edward and quizzing him on where and how he got the vervain.

On Thursday Stefan had somehow gotten into Edwards computer (Carlisle refused to use the word hacked) and changed some details in his history report that was due that morning. What he did with Edward's original copy no one knew but it had led to a rather embarrassing day for Edward and a one hour detention after school for using some choice words. He had refused to look anyone in the eye when it was time to go home but had spared Stefan a scathing glance that promised untold pain. That had been yesterday, and it looked like he had gotten his revenge from the way he sounded pleased with himself and the way Stefan had fled to his room. Carlisle sighed again as he went down the stairs to confront his youngest

"Hey dad"

Carlisle was not buying the innocent act. "What did you do to Stefan?"

His eyes widened as he feigned a look of surprise. Carlisle rolled he eyes internally. _He was really good_. "I didn't do anything to him dad. Why would you think I did anything?" He asked in a hurt filled voice

"Don't lie to me Edward. You know what happens when you do. Now are you going to tell me the truth or do I need to ask Emmett?"

Carlisle could see the wheels turning in Edward's head as he weighed the pros and cons of lying to his father. He also knew the exact time Edward came to a decision. Just as Edward opened his mouth to say whatever it was he had done to Stefan, and Carlisle knew it was going to be the truth, the victim in question came downstairs.

"He didn't do anything to me Mr. Cullen. I'm fine" Stefan said calmly

Carlisle didn't have to see the mixed expressions of shock and strange gratitude on Edward's face to know Stefan was lying. Why he would protect Edward now though while they had been trying to burn each other all week he couldn't tell

"Are you sure Stefan? You didn't look too pleased when you bolted to your room" Carlisle pressed

"I had a bad day at school. Nothing major" Stefan explained. At Carlisle's incredulous look he quickly added "Really Mr Cullen I'm fine". He turned to go back up the stairs. " If you don't mind I'd like to go back to my room"

Carlisle was about to dismiss him when he noticed how pale he looked. He looked almost gray. "Are you okay Stefan? You don't look too good. Have you eaten anything? Do you need to hunt?"

"I'm fine Mr..."

"Carlisle. I'm not hungry. I'm okay" Stefan gave a strained smile to convince him but Carlisle was not moved

"Esme mentioned you hadn't eaten since Wednesday. I know you are scared but I promise you Stefan that we would never do anything to hurt you..."

"Like vervaining me?" Stefan spat then calmed "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I get lunch in school Carlisle. So its no big deal. Can I go now?" Stefan asked, turning on his heel before Carlisle could say anything else. He quickly locked the door to his room-not that it would make any difference in a house full of vampires- and moaned into his pillow. Truth be told he was past hunger, right at the end of starving and bordering on famished. He was desiccating slowly and it hurt. Oh god it hurt. How he wished Damon were here. He hadn't fed since the morning he left Mystic Falls and that was a week ago. Esme had fed him breakfast and dinner everyday until Wednesday when he had stopped eating for fear of being poisoned again. That wouldn't have helped much anyway since he needed blood on almost a daily basis. When the Cullens hunted it tended to take them weeks before they hunted again so they didn't know what Stefan was feeling right now. They knew next to nothing about the original vampires- with the exception of Carlisle, who himself knew very little- and just assumed most of the things concerning him. Stefan curled up tighter as pain wracked through his body. _Oh fuck this_. He was going hunting, even if he did not know the forest well. He was too hungry to care. He contemplated going out the window and grimaced. That would make him look guilty and he had done noting wrong. _Good thing Edward can't read my mind_ , he mused. _He would have got a kick out of this_. He put on a hoodie and made his way downstairs hoping against hope that nobody would ask where he was going

"Where are you going Stefan?" Esme's voice stopped him in his tracks

 _There goes the hope of not being noticed_ , he mused. "I'm hungry" he stated simply hoping she'll understand. He felt guilty immediately when Esme's eyes lit up at the prospect of him eating

"I'll make you something" Esme answered, moving briskly toward the kitchen

"No..."

"Oh" Esme said as she tried hard to hide her disappointment

"No its not like I don't want to eat what you're making it's just that's not what I meant" Stefan explained quickly. "I need blood. I haven't fed in a week and uh... I don't feel too good"

"A week? That doesn't look like a very long time. We last longer than that, and you think you're superior to us. Wimps" Edward muttered under his breath

Stefan growled so savagely at Edward he almost dove behind his father. "I feed on animal blood. That makes me considerably weaker than other vampires of my kind who feed on humans and yet with all your 'special' gift of mind reading you can't get into my head. Do you really think you can call me a wimp because I have to do the normal thing we have in common more frequently than you?" Stefan spat, advancing slowly on Edward

Carlisle stepped between them quickly. "Is that what this is about? Who the superior vampire is? That's why you've been at each other's throat all week?"

"You are a wimp Stefan" Edward continued like his father hadn't even spoken. "Otherwise you wouldn't have been shipped all the way out here to hide like some scared little boy"

" I would really watch my tongue if I were you Edward Cullen" Stefan stated calmly, too calmly Carlisle noticed. "Then again what would you expect from a dumb, spoiled, snot-nosed little brattling"

"Boys..."

Edward laughed humorlessly. "You seriously calling me a spoiled brat? I saw your brother unpack your bags and arrange your closet. Who knows, maybe he was compensating for something-maybe apologizing for dumping your sorry ass on us?

In a blur that even the open mouthed occupants of the house couldn't comprehend, Stefan lifted Edward off the floor and slammed him into the coffee table, snarling at him in full vamp mode. Before he could cause any harm however Emmett and Jasper pulled him off a rather scared looking Edward. "Show some respect to my kind Edward. We can be vicious when dealing with dummies like you"

Edward looked at the now normal face before him. "You attacked me"

"You vervained me. You threw me off a cliff. I was going to do more than just attack you. I was going to rip you apart"

"Please" Edward scoffed. "You were not going to get hurt. The wolves cliff dive there all the time and they are not immortal. You're just being a baby"

"BOYS!" Carlisle practically screamed. This time though he got the attention of the two teens trying to stare each other down. "Edward why did you throw Stefan off a cliff? And what were you doing on the cliff anyway?"

"It was nothing dad, just a bit of fun. No harm done"

"I decide if there is harm done or not, not you" Carlisle almost growled at his son's nonchalant attitude. "Now tell me what you were doing on that cliff and why you thought it was a good idea to throw Stefan over. Then you" he turned to the rest of his children "will tell me why none of you tried to stop them"

Edward winced at his father's tone. "It's not their fault dad. Alice didn't see. I uh skirted around her visions"

"I think I know what happened pops" Emmett started. "Mike Newton cut his knee in gym today. He was bleeding quite badly. Stefan had problems with all that blood around and he started to get uncomfortable. Noticeably. I got him out of there quickly while Jasper tried to explain his reaction so as not to raise too many eyebrows. Since it was the last class of the day, I figured no one will miss him so I asked Edward to take him somewhere to cool off until it was time to go home"

"Is that what happened?" Carlisle asked, looking pointedly at Edward and Stefan

 _Silence_

"I asked a question"

"Yes sir" they answered simultaneously

"Stefan why didn't you tell us you had to feed almost daily?" Esme asked. "You endangered yourself and those students today"

"I'm sorry" Stefan mumbled

"And your idea of cooling him off was throwing him off a cliff?" Esme continued, looking at Edward

"Emmett did say to cool him off. What better way than water? It's not like he was going to die or anything"

"I did die" Stefan snarled. "I broke my neck. And because I hadn't fed in a while, it took some time to recover"

"You die when your neck is broken?" Rosalie asked

"Yes. Temporarily. And pushing me like that, from up there, it... You will regret this Edward Cullen. You went too far and I will pay you back in a most unforgettable way. Mark my words"

"This has gone too far. Neither of you are competition. This little war you have going on ends now or one or both of you will find it very difficult to sit" Carlisle stepped in

"You can't spank me" Stefan stated indignantly

"I'm your guardian. I can do that and more. So watch it. Both of you" he warned. "Now, you are going to apologize to each other, and then we'll go hunting. I've seen those pains you're trying to hide Stefan"

They looked at each other venomously

"I am never apologizing to you" Stefan spat into Edwards face. "And watch your back buddy cos this is just the beginning"

"Bring it pal. I wouldn't have it any other way" Edward rebutted

Carlisle and Esme could only watch on shocked as Stefan and Edward threatened each other. Then, before any of them could say anything, Stefan blurred out of the house into the forest. Carlisle got out of his stupor long enough to ask Emmett to go after him before turning to his wife, whose expression mirrored

 _"What just happened?"_

* * *

Esme's ears perked up immediately when she heard whimpering. She quickly spread her senses and honed in on Edward, not because she didn't care about her other children but because they were all watching a movie in the living room. That is with the exception of Edward and Stefan, who had gone to bed about an hour ago. Well it wasn't Edward. He was listening to music and she could hear clicks on a keyboard. That left Stefan. _What could be wrong with him_ , Esme pondered as she made her way to his room. The sight of Stefan writhing in bed however with the sheets bundles around his legs was not what she expected.

"CARLISLE!"

When Carlisle rushed into the room a second later he wasn't alone. His children almost beat him there. Even Edward was there, though he immediately had a bored expression on his face when he realized why

Carlisle sat by Stefan's bed and tried to wake him from whatever nightmare has him so distressed. He knew, because Jasper was distressed. He was barely holding it together.

Esme tried a different tactic. "Stefan come on wake up. It's just a dream. Open your eyes for me sweetie". When all Stefan did was let out a little sob, she turned to Carlisle. "What do you think he's dreaming about?"

"I don't know but it has to be bad if it has Jasper feeling this way. Rosalie get your brother out of here" Carlisle said

Rosalie nodded and guided her twin out. "Come on Jazzy"

"I don't know what all the fuss is about" Edward said, bored

"Quiet Edward" Carlisle admonished, then turned back to Stefan, shaking his shoulders a little harder. "Wake up Stefan"

Stefan suddenly shot up out of bed, then launched himself into Carlisle's arms, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck and practically sobbing into his neck.

Carlisle was caught off guard but he wrapped his arms around the boy and rubbed the quaking back. "Shhh, its okay Stefan. It's ok" he soothed

"Silas. Damon it was Silas. He... He... It was so cold. And... And you didn't come. Damon, why didn't you come?

Carlisle looked at Esme with a worried expression. "He thinks I'm his brother". He patted Stefan's back. "It's ok Stefan. I'm here now. Calm down. It's just a dream"

Stefan shook his head violently. "But... But its not. It wasn't. It was real... And wet... And..."

"It's ok. Calm yourself. It's alright. Everything will be ok" Carlisle continued to soothe

Finally Stefan's cries tapered down and he fell asleep in Carlisle's arms. After he got him settled back into bed, he shooed the rest of his family into the living room, where Jasper and Rosalie already were

"How are you feeling Jasper?"

"I'm ok dad. I'm better now"

"That's good" Carlisle breathed. "You keep it quiet down here tonight okay? Wherever that came from I don't want a repeat. Lets give Stefan a good night's rest, shall we? He needs it"

A chorus of 'yes dads and yes daddy's' rang out as everyone went back to what they were doing.

* * *

Edward slinked into his room with a satisfied smirk on his face. He had caught a line of thought in Stefan's distressing moment and a plan was already up his sleeve. _Thank you Silas_ , whoever you are

 _Game on Salvatore_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight and the vampire diaries belong to Stephanie Meyer and LJ Smith**_

 _ **Warning: Mentions of threat of spanking**_

* * *

Alice bounded happily into the garage and poked Rosalie with her foot. Rosalie grunted and slid out from under her father's Mercedes, glaring at Alice.

"Oh don't give me that look Rose. Father's about to start"

Rosalie's annoyed look faded all of a sudden as she jumped up. "Really? Where are the boys?"

Alice shrugged. "Emmett and Jasper are where they always are, trying out some new video game. I really don't understand why…"

"Alice" Rosalie interrupted her rambling

"Oh right. So Emmett and Jasper are in the living room, and Edward is playing the piano"

"Ok. Come on" Rosalie said as she led the way to her father's office, pausing in the living room to call her brothers. Emmett and Jasper stood immediately to follow her. Only Edward remained uninterested.

"Come on Eddie. Dad's going to check Stefan out. Don't you wanna see?" Emmett asked his little brother.

Edward shook his head without missing a beat on the tune he was playing.

"Oh come on baby brother. It'll be fun. It's Stefan's first full check up. Don't you want to see all the things that make him different from us? You know the weird eyes and the fangs?" Emmett coaxed

"Sorry Em. It's not as fascinating when the fangs have been mere inches from my face a couple of hours ago" Edward snarled. "And I can tell you with sincerity that it wasn't fun"

Rosalie huffed. They were wasting time. She stalked over to her little brother and dragged him up by his arm. "That was your fault. You shouldn't have provoked him. We're going" she concluded as she dragged a protesting Edward to their father's office, knowing the others will follow.

* * *

Carlisle didn't look up as his children entered his office but he hid a smile. He had heard them downstairs as they tried to get Edward to come. He knew Stefan was as much a mystery to them as he was to him and so he understood their curiosity. Even Esme was there. He only hoped Stefan didn't take it badly. He looked at the boy in front of him as he grinned at Emmett and Jasper. He didn't seem to mind. But just in case…

"Stefan if you feel in anyway uncomfortable about your audience, you let me know, okay?"

Stefan nodded. "It's fine Carlisle. There's no problem with them being here"

"Ok then. Take off your shirt. I want to listen to your heartbeat". Stefan pulled off his shirt as Carlisle readied his stethoscope. He listened to Stefan's heart for a couple of seconds. "It seems even though you have a heartbeat, it's slower than that of a human. Rose honey, would you write that down for me? Thank you. Now let's see your temperature… 32 degrees Celsius. Huh. The closest we have managed is 27. Yours is easier to explain. Rose, write that down too. Now open wide. Good boy…"

Edward rolled his eyes in annoyance. This was nothing new. He had been on the receiving end of one of his father's check ups before and this was boring. "Why exactly are we here? I have better things to do" he grumbled

"Edward, give me that light" Carlisle asked without missing a beat. He took the light from a grumbling Edward's hands and flashed it into Stefan's eyes. "Okay. Looks like you are a healthy seventeen year old, no shock there. Now let's have a look at something more complex and less human, shall we?"

Stefan nodded

"Let me see your fangs"

Emmett gave a slight **_whoa_** as Stefan dropped his fangs. The curious Cullen children stalked closer to get a better look. Carlisle put a gloved finger to the tip of one fang. "It's very sharp. Are they a different set of retractable teeth or do your normal teeth just elongate to form them?"

"My normal teeth" Stefan answered

"Do you have any control over when they descend or do they come down on their own?" Carlisle prodded

Edward smirked when Stefan looked uncomfortable. _Gotcha_. "Do tell Salvatore"

"It is usually controlled" Stefan said, ignoring Edward's taunts. "But for me, it's slightly different. Sometimes it drops when I don't want it to, like when there's blood"

"Human or animal?" Edward asked, a happy look on his face

Stefan glared at him. "Both"

"Oh come now Stefan, we both know that's not true"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Well that's not a choice. Dad needs to know how your body functions and that is part of the information he needs. So spill"

"Edward" Esme admonished, and then turned to Stefan. "I don't think we need to know that Stefan. Do we honey?"

"No actually" Carlisle said to Edward's annoyance. "Okay let's continue. Does the eye colour change have any bearing on when the fangs drop?"

"Not exactly" Stefan answered, then changed his face to prove it. "When my fangs drop because I have to feed, then yes, my face changes too. But sometimes I can change my face without dropping my fangs. Like when I'm pissed off at someone but don't want to eat them. And sometimes just to scare people" he added, then looked straight at Edward and let the veins pop out on his face, smirking slightly when Edward took a wary step back.

"Man, that is _so_ _cool_ " Emmett whistled

"Can you do it again?" Jasper asked

Carlisle rolled his eyes. "That's all for now Stefan. We'll finish up later"

Stefan nodded and stood up from the examination table. He quickly put his shirt on and did a back flip, landing lightly in front of Edward. The veins popped on his face for a second before, with a badly concealed smile, he blurred downstairs. His vampire face freaked Edward out. They both knew it and Stefan planned to use it to his advantage.

Carlisle watched as Stefan blurred downstairs and Edward practically stomped off to his room. He sighed. "This is going to be a long week ". Esme agreed.

"Don't worry mom, dad. Stefan and Edward would be best friends before Halloween. I can feel it" Alice spoke from behind them

Her siblings,and their parents looked at her like she had two heads. That possibility was so unrealistic, and with Stefan somehow immune to their powers, they knew Alice couldn't see his future and wondered if she was okay.

* * *

Carlisle knew this day would come. As a matter of fact, he had been preparing for it. But no amount of preparation could set him up for this. He gathered the last of his files into his bag and, after a rather hurried call to his wife, made his way to his car and drove towards the school, fervently praying that he was in time.

His Mercedes screeched to a stop in front of Forks High and he ran out of the car, having enough awareness to not blur at vampire speed into the school. He would have been impressed with how well the teachers had managed to keep the rambunctious teens from making this into one large reality show had he not been so worried. He made a mental note to donate a sizeable sum to the school for their diligence as he noticed the low murmurings from the students as they saw him pass through their windows. He also noticed the wrecked classroom that he most likely would be paying for to be repaired. There was not a single piece of furniture that wasn't broken in the room. Even the door was off its hinges. _Oh Edward_ , he sighed inwardly. _How was he going to explain all this?_ He gave a barely there nod to the secretary and walked into the principal's office, barely acknowledging his children sitting on the bench outside it.

If Carlisle was surprised at seeing Billy Black in the office, he didn't show it, instead shaking the principal's hand and nodding to him.

"Mr Cullen. Glad you could make it" the principal greeted

"I'm sorry if I kept you waiting. I came as fast as I could" Carlisle said

Principal Curtis waved him off. "Like I said on the phone, there was an incident at the school today" he said, going straight to business. "It involved two of your boys Mr Cullen, Edward and his cousin Stefan, and your son Jacob Mr Black. From what the teachers and students who were at the scene told me, Edward and Stefan had some kind of argument in the hallway. It had been going on for sometime now. Everyone knew about the hostility between Edward and his southern cousin so no one thought anything about it when they were seen in a heated argument. This time though was different. Edward reacted violently to something Stefan had said, or done, and shoved him into a wall. Stefan in turn retaliated by throwing himself at Edward and sending both of them crashing though the door into one of the classrooms, hard enough to rip off one of its hinges. Honestly I'm surprised their injuries are not more severe. They were very lucky. The force of the door opening had slammed it shut again and this time it couldn't be opened, not without considerable effort. Sounds of chairs and tables breaking and punches being thrown could be heard from outside the door. Then young Mr Black here shouldered the door open, but in their mass destruction of the classroom, Stefan or Edward had pushed a table against the door so there was only just enough space for Jacob to wiggle through. No one is certain what happened after that but some students claimed they heard animalistic growls and other stuff. One even swore she saw a and their wild imagination, right?" Carlisle and Billy Black shared a look. "By the time Emmett finally managed to kick the door open, only Jacob was in the room, and he was half naked. His pants were in tatters and his shirt was completely shredded. Needless to say we were shocked. Something pretty nasty must have gone down for them to lose their heads this way. I've never seen teenage boys behave so aggressively, and Edward was always such a quiet boy it was unbelievable. The glass in the window was shattered and Jacob confirmed our belief that Edward and Stefan left through it. We took Jacob to the infirmary but the nurse said he was fine. Not even a bruise on him. Like I said, very lucky. That is why I called you here. Edward and Stefan haven't returned to the school yet and Jacob said Stefan was injured before jumping out the window. Its going to start raining soon and I'm worried" As if backing the principal thunder boomed across the rapidly darkening skies.

Carlisle straightened in the chair. "I'm really sorry for the actions of my son amd nephew. If its not too much of an issue, I'd like to take the rest of my kids home. Stefan is probably on his way home now. He couldn't have gone very far with his wounds and he hasn't been in town long enough to know the back roads so I'm sure we'll meet him on the way. I've already sent someone after Edward. I have a good idea about where he might be"

Principal Curtis nodded and stood up. "Of course. And Mr Black, you can take Jacob home too. Punishment would be communicated to you later. Thank you for coming Mr Cullen, Mr Black"

Carlisle and Billy shook his hand. "Thank you too principal. We'll be waiting to hear from you". They ushered their children outside into the parking lot. Once they were out of eyesight and earshot, Carlisle turned to Jacob. "Is that all that really happened in there or is there something else we need to know?"

Jacob looked vaguely uncomfortable before a nod from his father boosted his confidence. He nodded at Carlisle. "The fight was intense, and they were going at vampire speed so it was difficult to see their movements. At first I was afraid Edward might somehow hurt Stefan badly, but he was surprisingly very strong. Edward didn't have a chance to throw in a single punch as Stefan kept throwing him around and pummeling him unto the furniture. That was how they got broken. When I finally got an opening I stepped in to pull Stefan off Edward but I couldn't. Not like this. So I shifted, and dug my teeth into Stefan's arm. The pain uncoordinated him for a second and that was when Edward got his chance. He lifted Stefan off the floor and slammed him into one of the few standing tables. It broke of course, but Stefan didn't get up immediately like the other times. Instead he arched his back off the floor and gritted his teeth. I didn't understand until he tried to turn over when I saw why. One of the table pieces had lodged itself into his back. Edward stalked towards him and I pushed him out the window. While I was trying to remove the stick in Stefan's back he climbed back in and pushed me into a wall. Then he...uhm..." Jacob had the uncomfortable look again.

"Then what, Jake?" Emmett asked impatiently

"He broke Stefan's neck and ran off with him into the forest" Jacob said, Alice and Rosalie letting out twin gasps. "I think he killed him"

Carlisle sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Stefan's not dead. Edward just incapacitated him, probably to continue the fight in the forest. Emmett and Alice, see if you can follow their scent. Rosalie, take your brother and go home. They might show up there. Your mother's on her way. I need to call and tell her what happened. I'll take the roads. If you find them, call me immediately. Do you understand?" They nodded and drove separate ways. Carlisle then turned to Billy. "I'm sorry about all this Billy. I'll come see you as soon as I settle this. I don't even know what they were thinking. And in front of so many people too. So many _humans_ "

Billy Black shook his head. "I just hope the Volturi don't decide to come visit. We'll keep our eyes open for them Carlisle" he assured him, then pushed Jacob into the back before climbing in the front. He sat patiently as Sam put away his wheelchair and got behind the wheel. Then with a final wave at Carlisle, they drove off.

* * *

"Edward honey, tell us where he is. Where did he go?"

"Pampering won't get us anywhere Esme" Carlisle all but growled as he finally got home. Alice had called and said they had found Edward but there was no sight of Stefan and Edward was refusing to answer any of their questions. He either glared at them defiantly or showed no emotion all. They brought him home and their mother tried to coddle the answers out of him and as was evident now, she was not having any luck either. That was until Carlisle arrived. Something that looked like fear flashed across Edward's face at the sight of his father. " ?" Carlisle snarled at his youngest son

Those two words and a menacing eyebrow raise undid Edward as his indifferent façade fell off. He gulped and shifted on the couch, drawing closer to Emmett for protection. "I-It wasn't my f-fault okay? He was being mean..."

"You have been mean to each other since he arrived. What was so different about this time that you had to risk revealing us to the humans? And where is Stefan?"

"I...ahhh...he..."

"You are going to tell me what went on in the forest and where Stefan went or so help me Edward Anthony I would give you a preview of what you'll be getting for this little stunt and I assure you that couch won't be so comfortable after I'm done"Carlisle threatened

Edward's eyes widened at the threat. "I th-threw him over the c-cliff...again"

There were collective gasps around the house.

"Why would you do that Eddie?" Emmett asked. "When you did that the first time he had a nightmare"

"And you saw, didn't you? You saw what happened in his head. There is no other way you could have known. Oh Edward, what did you do?" Carlisle moaned

"Honey, what are you talking about? What did Edward see? He can't read Stefan's mind, right?" Esme asked her husband. She was confused

"He shouldn't be able to. But that night Stefan had the nightmare, he was afraid of something. That would have made it easier for him to let something slip from his thoughts or for Edward to catch some of them. You remember what he said, about feeling so wet?" Esme nodded and Carlisle continued, his entire family looking on with rapt attention. "His reaction baffled me so I called Alaric the next day. He said something happened to Stefan some time ago. The short of it was someone named Silas stabbed him with a branch and locked him in a box, dropping Stefan and the box into a quarry. He wasn't found until three months later. He kept drowning over and over Esme, for three good months. Its a bad memory, so when Edward pushed him over the cliff without warning he remembered..."

"That brought on the nightmare" Esme concluded, looking faintly green. She turned to Edward. "Did you know this Edward? Did you intentionally push Stefan into the waters again?"

Edward had tears in his eyes. "I did... But when I s-saw in the nightmare I t-thought he was afraid of water. That is all. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories. Please. It was just supposed to be a mean prank and he was supposed to come home when he woke up. Honest. I didn't put him in a box or anything so I don't know why he's not here yet"

Jasper suddenly sat up. "What if he can't? Jacob said he was impaled with a stick during the fight and he tried to get up but couldn't. What if it was lodged in his spinal cord?"

"That would induce paralysis. Until that stick is out of his back, Stefan won't be able to move" Carlisle concluded

"So he may be awake but he's just lying there drowning because he can't move?" Rosalie asked. "That is even worse"

Carlisle quickly donned his jacket and threw one each to Emmett and Jasper. "Both of you are coming with me to La Push. Alice, you and your sister take the car. We don't want to have to explain to anyone why we're in the forest without any means of transport, no matter how unlikely. And you" he pointed at Edward. "You will stay here with your mother"

* * *

Carlisle and Jasper had to dive about half a dozen times before they finally found Stefan. Even with their vampire vision the rain had clouded the water and it was so murky they found it slightly challenging to see. It was Jasper who got hold of Stefan and hauled him to the shore, where Emmett was waiting. They lay him on the ground and waited for their father. Carlisle gently turned Stefan over and dug out the stick in his spine, then he tried to get the water out of his lungs. He was very happy when it took only two tries and Stefan was spluttering water. He gulped in huge amounts of air as his body shook violently. Carlisle knew it was shock as Stefan couldn't feel the cold. He hugged the boy to his body.

"It's okay, Stefan. Its okay. You're okay" he comforted, getting slightly worried as Stefan's breathing leveled but he still didn't speak. When he finally did though, Carlisle wished he hadn't.

" **Ho intenzione di ucciderlo** " Stefan announced calmly, the veins popping around his eyes more pronounced against his stark white face.

Carlisle paled.

* * *

 _Italian translation_

 _Ho intenzione di ucciderlo- I'm going to kill him_

* * *

 ** _Please read and review_**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight and Vampire Diaries belong to Stephanie Meyer and LJ Smith respectively. I don't make any money from these stories.**_

 _ **Warning: May contain spanking**_

* * *

When they got home, Esme had a blanket ready for Stefan. It wasn't really needed but nobody wanted to dampen Esme's mothering. She wrapped the blanket around Stefan's still shivering body in Emmett's arms, then directed Emmett to place him on the couch. Edward looked on with a wide eyed regretful look as his mother fussed over Stefan. He really wanted to apologise but it didn't seem like Stefan was ready to hear anything at the moment. It was just supposed to be a mean prank and he hadn't really meant to dredge up bad memories. He looked around at the bustle of activities his family was undertaking as they blurred from place to place. His mother still fussed over Stefan, Emmett had been sent to the kitchen to heat up some blood, Alice and Rosalie were arguing on whether to put some clothes on Stefan now or after he had had a shower, his father was checking Stefan's healing and mentally calculating how long before he had use of his legs again and Jasper was pouring the blood into Stefan as fast as Emmett got it from the kitchen as Stefan's hands were shaking too much to properly hold a cup.

This went on the whole night until Stefan broke out of his catatonic state a little after six in the morning. The shaking had stopped finally and he pushed away Jasper's hands as he tried to give him another cup of blood. Esme rushed to his side immediately.

"Stefan, sweetheart, are you feeling better?" She asked, cupping Stefan's face.

Stefan however did not respond, instead fixing Edward with a steely glare. In a blink of an eye, before anyone could comprehend that he had left the couch, he threw Edward through the glass wall into the mud outside. He followed immediately before Edward could recover and kicked him hard. Edward sailed through the air and landed a couple of hundred feet away with a pained grunt. Before he could pick himself up, Stefan kicked him again, this time through some trees and into the forest. In the few seconds it took for the Cullen family to catch up to them in the forest, Stefan had ripped off one of Edward's arms and at least a dozen once strong trees were destroyed. At the moment Stefan had Edward in a choke hold against a sturdy oak tree, slowly trying to rip off his head while his eyes bore into Edward's tear filled fearful ones.

Alice looked horrified. "Stefan stop it!" she shrieked, throwing Stefan off Edward and kneeling beside her little brother

Stefan came blurring back immediately, only to be stopped by Emmett wrapping an arm around his waist and lifting him off his feet. He struggled so violently Emmett almost dropped him.

Carlisle joined Alice beside his youngest on the forest floor. "Jasper look for your brother's arm. I need to reattach it"

"I-I'm very very sorry Stefan. I d-didn't know about the drowning, I swear. I w-would nev-never..." Edward began tearfully, only to be interrupted by Stefan

"You're sorry? _**You're sorry?**_ You don't know what the word means, you spoiled brat. By the time I'm done with you, you would know the true meaning of a sorry being" Stefan spat coldly. It was the first time he had spoken since the ominous threat at the cliffs and it looked like he intended to keep his promise. "Do you have any idea what it felt like? Do you? Wet and cold, that's how. Maybe I'll just show you" With a powerful jerk, he jumped out of Emmett's arms and grabbed Edward's jaw.

There were twin gasps, one more painful than the other, as Edward and a returning Jasper both suffered the influx of memories Stefan was imparting. Jasper curled up on the ground in a fetal position, his gift making him experience the fear, pain, misery and hope that Edward was feeling through Stefan. Edward was not better off either. He was living Stefan's three month drowning right on dry land. Every horrible moment of it. By the time Emmett pulled stefan off him and broke the connection, he had seen and gone through enough. He grasped his father's jacket fiercely with his one arm and buried his face into his chest, body shuddering with sobs. Jasper also sagged into Rosalie's arms, who had hurried to the side of her twin immediately he went down. Stefan's anger seemed to deflate quickly after this as the horror of the previous night came rushing back. He sank into the muddy forest floor and let lose heart wrenching sobs, not fighting it when Esme pulled him into her arms and started rubbing his back.

"I want to talk to my brother" he whispered against Esme's neck. He hadn't spoken to Damon since he arrived in Forks, mostly because he hadn't forgiven him for taking him away from Mystic Falls but now he wanted nothing more than to hear his voice.

Esme nodded. "Ok sweetie, anything you want. We'll call him when we get home. Would you like that?"

Stefan nodded.

* * *

Esme sighed heavily when she heard the shower turn off in Stefan's room. If it was possible for her to get physically tired she would have been exhausted, and if she felt that way she couldn't begin to imagine how Stefan and Edward felt. Her mind drifted as she heated up a mug of blood for Stefan. Edward's screams as his father replaced his torn off limb had been excruciating to hear. He was after all her baby. She could practically feel the bones and ligaments shift and fuse together as Carlisle worked to align them properly. It didn't take long, but it was very painful, and Carlisle had needed Alice and Emmett to him down as he thrashed. That had been almost an hour ago, around the same time that Stefan went into the bathroom. Esme had began to get worried when after about thirty minutes there was still no sound of water running. She was just about to go check on him when the shower finally started running. She used the time he was there to make arrangements for the repairs needed around the house and check in on Jasper, who was still recovering from the incident in the forest. Edward was curled up in his father's lap and Alice and Emmett were cleaning the glass from the living room. Immediately she heard the water stop running upstairs she started to heat blood for Stefan, giving her husband a small smile when he moved Edward to the couch to go talk to Stefan.

Carlisle gave Stefan enough time to get dressed before he knocked on the door. At the quiet 'come in' he received, he walked slowly into the room to see Stefan sitting cross-legged in the bed. "Stefan, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling much better Carlisle"

"Ok. That's good" Carlisle said. "You and Edward are not allowed to use the computer but I'll make an exception today. You can call your brother on skype. I imagine you'll feel much better seeing him than talking to him on the phone"

Stefan brightened. "That'd be great Carlisle. Thank you"

"You're welcome" Carlisle smiled at him. "When you're done I want you to get some sleep ok? We'll talk when you wake up" he added, then with a soft kiss to Stefan's head, he left the room

Stefan watched as Carlisle left and opened his laptop. His eyes watered when Damon appeared on the screen. "D-Damon?"

"Stefan thank God you finally called. I've been trying to reach you for like forever. You're not still mad at me are you? You know its for your own good. As so... Stef you look terrible. What happened?"

Stefan couldn't hold his composure after that as the tears spilled over and he started to tell Damon everything that happened in the last month. He watched as Damon's expression went from amused to sympathy to anger to horror and the one he dreaded; vacant. Damon was extremely dangerous when he was unreadable.

Another soft knock came on the door and Edward poked his head in. Stefan looked up at him. "I...uhm...I wanted to apologise again for what happened. I'm really sorry Stefan. I..."

"Is that Edward?" Damon asked, and when Stefan nodded he added coldly. "I want to talk to him"

Stefan's eyes widened. "Damon, its fine. He already apologized, and..."

" . .Him" he ground out

Stefan handed the laptop over to Edward and watched as his brother growled and snarled and threatened Edward until Alaric had to step in. By then Edward had been reduced to a sniveling mess and welcomed Alaric's interruption with open arms. He bolted to the door after Alaric's authoritative "That's enough Damon" and would have been downstairs already had Stefan not called to him.

"Edward" Stefan spoke softly. "Its okay. You didn't know. I forgive you". He gave a small smile at the relief on Edward's face when he said that, then went back to the computer to ask Alaric why he was at their house so early in the morning.

* * *

"Huh" Emmett said. "That saying was true after all. There is calm after the storm or something like that. Maybe they won't fight anymore"

"I sure do hope so" Rosalie said as she entered the living room. "I don't know how much more of this Jasper can take"

"This incident seemed to have rattled them both. I think they'll get along more now" Carlisle added

"I told you they'll be friends before Halloween" Alice said

"This is hardly friendship Alice" Rosalie said

"We'll have to help the process along. But you'll see I'm right"

Rosalie was about to say something else when the phone rang. They watched Carlisle answer it and speak for a few seconds. He turned to them when he hang up.

"That was the school. Stefan and Edward are suspended for three weeks. And they have to pay for the damages as well" he said. "I've asked permission for the rest of you to stay home today. But you'll be back to school tomorrow. Emmett why don't you get Stefan and Edward down here so I can tell them the consequences of their actions before I leave for work?"

After their father had left for the hospital and Stefan didn't look like he was going to sleep anytime soon, the Cullen kids came up with a plan. Jasper and Emmett would stay home and play video games with Stefan and Edward while Alice and Rosalie went shopping. Operation make-Stefan-and-Edward-friends was so on.

* * *

Stefan stared listlessly at the screen as Emmett and Jasper whooped at the game they were playing. He was tired and would love nothing more than to sleep but he was afraid of the nightmares he knew he would have once he shut his eyes. He looked up as Esme called to him softly to come eat a late breakfast. He ate the toast and about a quarter of the eggs, then sat staring apprehensively at the orange juice. Esme noticed.

"What's wrong Stefan? You don't like the juice? I can get you something else"

"N-no its fine" Stefan smiled shakily, picking up the glass. As soon as Esme turned around however, he dropped the smile and went back to staring intensely at the glass of juice he was holding. He was looking so much he didn't notice how hard he was holding it until the glass shattered and several pieces got stuck in his palm.

Jasper and Emmett stopped the game at once and Esme came blurring out of the kitchen. Even Edward stopped playing the piano.

"Stefan are you ok?" Esme asked worriedly, pulling the shaking and bleeding hand towards her and sending Jasper for some bandages. "What happened?"

"I'm s-sorry. It was just s-so wet. I c-couldn't. I couldn't" Stefan stuttered, eyes pooling with tears

"Oh sweetheart, its okay" Esme said as she wrapped the bandage expertly around his hand. It would heal completely in an hour or two but she felt the need to do that. She led him to the couch beside Emmett. "Why don't you rest here for a while? Emmett and Jasper would keep you company" she added as she went back to the table to sweep up the broken pieces of glass.

Stefan looked down at his bandaged hands, cheeks burning as he thought about the PTSD episode he just displayed in front of the Cullen kids. Emmett felt sorry for him.

"How about a game Stefan? Lets see how good you are" he said, handing Stefan a controller, before mentally smacking himself at the bandaged hand. "Oh" he said lamely. "Sorry"

Jasper rolled his eyes at Emmett. "Tell us about Mystic Falls. Ah haven' been south in a long while buh I kinda miss it. Ah came to Virginia once with my pa, before the war. Richmond. It was the farthest I'd journeyed from home. I remember being so excited" he spoke in a perfect southern drawl

Stefan smiled. "Couple o' hours further and you woulda been in Mystic Falls..." he responded in kind. Emmett gave an exaggerated groan at the language, making Stefan laugh, and just like that the mood was lightened and Stefan's incident with the cup was forgotten.

* * *

Alice and Rosalie returned in the late afternoon with a car full of shopping bags. They picked about two bags each and thrust the keys into Emmett and Jasper's arms, silently commanding them to bring the rest in.

"I really don't get how _shopping_ is supposed to make Edward and Stefan friends. Do you?" Emmett grumbled, turning confusedly to Jasper, who shrugged back. They unloaded the car in a couple of seconds, putting down the last bag just as Alice gave an inhuman shriek at seeing Stefan's bandaged hand.

"What happened to your hand?"

Stefan shrugged. "Oh this? That's nothing. It's all healed up. I should be taking this off" he said, starting to tear at the bandage

Alice stopped him. "Leave it. Dad will check it out when he returns from work"

Stefan tried to protest. "It's really nothing Alice, I c..."

"I said leave it" Alice spoke in a way that reminded Stefan of Damon, and he bowed his head in submission. Edward chuckled softly at Alice ordering Stefan around. _Welcome to my life,_ he mused. When Alice glared darkly at him, he smiled innocently.

"Which ones are mine Alice?"

She brightened immediately. Alice had a knack for shopping for everyone when she went shopping.

"Oh right. I almost forgot. This is for you" she handed him a bag. "And you Stefan" she gave one to Stefan too. "After your little skirmish yesterday, I noticed that you had lost or damaged your phones, so Rosalie and I got you new ones. I'm sorry its the same brand but its different colors so... That wouldn't be a problem right?"

"Thank you" Stefan said meekly

"Thanks Alice" Edward iterated

"Its no problem" Alice brushed them off, picking up another bag. "We also got you these jackets, seeing as how, once again, you ruined yours in the fight. There's one here for Jacob too. Both of you will have to take it over to the reservation... Ah ah ah" she shook her head when Edward and Stefan tried to protest. "He's in this because of you two. You're going. I wasn't really in a shopping mood today" Emmett and Jasper shared disbelieving looks. "But you two needed phones, and I couldn't just buy you phones and leave . It was too tempting. Due to that our shopping was a little lazy today. We went to only one shop, and they had the jackets in only one color. Since you and Stefan are the same size we just grabbed two and left to look through another shop for Jacob's. He's of a broader build than you two so..."

Emmett and Jasper shared knowing looks this time as they tuned out Alice's explanations and went outside. Jasper turned to Emmett, an amused expression on his face. "This is how they intend to make them friends? Buying them matching phones and jackets? It won't work"

"I don't know Jazz. Doesn't seem like Edward and Stefan have caught on yet"

"But still, matching phones? They're not twelve Em" he looked intensely at his older brother. "Maybe its time we stepped in Em. The girls have had their chance. Let's show them how it's done"

In the end the boy's didn't even have a chance to try.

* * *

With his father at work, his mother shopping for food for Stefan and his older siblings at school, Edward was the definition of bored. Stefan had finally fallen into a disturbed sleep around dawn after waking up several times in the night screaming about Silas and _cold wet things_ and Edward knew he wasn't waking up soon. He resigned himself to alternating between watching TV and listening to music while he waited for his mother to return and entertain him. So intent was he on the music he was listening to, singing along with the tunes, that he almost didn't catch the sound. Wait, was that... _someone throwing up_? The only other person in the house was Stefan, and he couldn't be sick. He was a vampire after all.

He slowly removed the headphones and inched towards Stefan's room. "Oh shoot" he muttered at the sight before him. Stefan was sprawled out on the ground between the bed and the bathroom door. Looked like he couldn't make it back to the bed before his legs gave out. He knelt beside him on the floor. "Stefan, uhh, are you okay?"

Stefan shook his head vigorously and Edward's eyes widened. Stefan would never show weakness in front of him. If he was admitting it, it had to be serious.

"I n-need to t-talk to my b-brother" Stefan stated, making a move towards the bed, and falling painfully again

"Whoa. Hey stop" Edward held his shoulders. "Jesus, you're burning up. What's going on Stefan? Vampires aren't supposed to get sick"

"I need to call..."

"We need to get your fever down. Come, I'll run you a cold bath" Edward interrupted, yanking Stefan up by his arm and taking him to the bathroom

"You don't understand. I need to... I'M GOING TO DIE!"

That got Edward's attention. "What?"

"When we fought,and Jacob pulled me off you, he bit me" Stefan watched as understanding dawned on Edward

"Shit. Okay get in the shower. Your temperature is still rising. You need to cool down. I'll call Damon" Edward said, shifting Stefan to sit on the bathroom floor before turning on the shower and disappearing into the bedroom. He reappeared about two minutes later, a worried look on his face. "No one's answering. And it's the only number you have on the phone"

Stefan looked up at him with a somewhat confused expression,"Wha... Oh yes. That. It's the only number I could recollect. Alice got us new phones remember?"

Edward nodded. "Yea. Well come on then. Lets get you out of the shower and then I'll call mom. The others as still in class and their phones will be silenced, and dad is working. The probability that he has his phone on him is very low. I'll help you" He grabbed Stefan's arm to pull him up, but dropped it immediately when he screamed in pain. "Why? What is it?"

"That is the arm that was bitten" he replied through clenched teeth as he tried to breathe through the throbbing pain. He looked curiously at his arm. The pain was great, but there was no visible wound. Before he could deliberate further however, he felt himself being lifted off the floor. He was considerably weak, but he still struggled. "Hey. Put me down. I can walk"

Edward didn't bother though, placing Stefan gently at the foot of the bed. "Mom's phone is not going through. Some hitch in the reception or something. I called dad too, and I was right. He doesn't have the phone with him. We're on our own. What do you need?"

The little struggle Stefan gave had drained him of the last dregs of energy he had left. "I n-need blood, Klaus blood, or I'll die. I'm going to st-start halu-lucinating soon. When that ha-happens, you need to get out of here..."

"I'm not leaving you alone when you're sick"

"If you don't, I could kill you"

"Probably. But my dad will kill me first if I leave. I'm more scared of him than you so no. And... Wait, why didn't you tell anyone you were bitten? We could have gotten Klaus blood long ago. It's been three days already. How long do you have?"

"I don't know. I should be dead already. This time is different"

"Different how?"

"We don't usually get sick. And if we don't get the cure within 24 to 48 hours, we die. When we're bitten, the wound closes, giving a false impression that you'll be okay. But in a couple of hours it reopens again, with a lot of agony, and from that point onwards its nothing but deterioration until death or until Klaus feels benevolent enough to give you his blood, which is pretty rare. When Jacob bit me I healed, and the wound didn't manifest again, not even till now, so I thought Jacob being a different breed of werewolf than my kind it wouldn't affect me. I was wrong"

"You're an idiot, you know that? You didn't tell anyone Jacob bit you, not because you forgot, but because you were waiting for symptoms to show up before you said anything. Did it ever occur to you that if you eventually told someone after the symptoms manifested themselves, it could be too late to get Klaus blood all the way from Virginia? Did it also..."

"Edward" Stefan interrupted. "I don't feel good" he said, then promptly threw up all over himself.

"Oh shit. Uhhh. Ok. Back into the bathroom you go" Edward lifted Stefan back into the bathroom and turned on the shower. "I'm going to try my dad one more time" he said digging out his phone.

"Dr Cullen's phone, how can I help you?"

"Oh hey Nancy. I need to speak to my father. Can you get him for me?"

"Oh hi Edward. I'm sorry but your fathers in surgery. I can take a message and have him call you back"

"No, I need to... Nancy? Hello? She hung up" Edward mused, steadily getting worried until a weak voice called to him from the bathroom. He run to the bathroom to find Stefan now shivering violently.

"I'm c-cold. Very col-cold" Stefan stuttered through chattering teeth

"Okay. Uhh. Here" he wrapped him in a big fluffy towel. "I'll find you something to wear" he said, ruffling through Stefan's closet and picking out a fresh pair of jeans and a hoodie. He ripped the wet pajamas off of Stefan and redressed him in the warm clothes. There was no shred of embarrassment on Stefan's face as Edward dressed him like a child. He had been alive too long for being naked in front of someone to matter, least of all one who had survived almost as long and seen almost as much as he had. He settled back contentedly on the pillows, allowing Edward to pull his hoodie up over his ears as warmth seeped back into his body. He closed his eyes and was just about to fall into a light doze when they flew back open.

"I think I'm gonna hurl" he announced matter-of-factly.

Edward whirled around. "Now?". It was too late though as Stefan retched all over the bed and the floor. Edward watched helplessly as he threw up...blood. His eyes widened. "You're puking blood. This is so not good" Edward was so caught up in his mumblings he didn't notice immediately when Stefan's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started seizing. He came to his senses rather quickly though, and pinned his shoulders to the bed as Stefan spasmed and flailed. In what felt like years to Edward but was actually about thee minutes, the seizure was over and Stefan flopped back into the bed, a pained whimper escaping his lips as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Edward let go of Stefan's shoulders and angrily swiped at his cheeks. It wouldn't do for him to start crying now. Stefan needed him. He breathed deeply and cleaned up the blood on the floor. Then he carried Stefan to his room, fully intending to come back and change the sheets, but Stefan didn't want to be alone so instead he took off his soiled hoodie and put one of his on him. He flopped listlessly on the bed beside Stefan and shook his head.

"I can't do this. I don't know what to do anymore. Hell, I'd take help from the Volturi if they offered. Maybe..." He paused in his ramblings when he noticed Stefan struggling to breath. "Stefan?" All the answer he got was wheezing sounds as Stefan gripped the sheets in panic. Edward could only watch helplessly as the breathlessness run it's course and Stefan's eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"And here I thought I knew what suffering was" Stefan whispered

"You're making jokes now? You're dying!" Edward exclaimed. "We need to call someone for help"

"Who? We've tried everyone. The universe is just against me today" he mumbled as he watched Edward dial another number on his phone. "Who are you calling?"

"Forks High School. How may we help you?"

Stefan's eyes widened. "You're calling the school?" He asked

Edward raised a hand to silence him. "This is Edward Cullen. I would like to speak to my siblings please"

"Mr Cullen, your siblings are in class and can not be disturbed. I'll let them..."

"NO! No, please don't hang up. It's my cousin. He's really sick and I can't get in touch with anyone. We're home alone and he's had a seizure and thrown up blood and..." Stefan watched in amazement as he made his voice falter a little "... I don't know what to do. Please, just, I need some help. Please" throwing in a fake sob and a sniffle at the end

"Okay, okay, Mr Cullen. Calm down. Everything is going to be fine. Which of your siblings do you want to talk to?"

"All of them"

When Edward turned around Stefan was looking at him with a mixture and curiosity and admiration. "That almost never works on Damon. He says he invented it, thus he's immune. It works but not as often as I'd like. And I'm excellent at it"

Edward smirked. "It works on my parents all the time. My siblings though, not so much. A little sniffling and tears and they'll let me off for murder"

* * *

"Edward?" With the shower running, it was no surprise that Edward didn't hear Alice's shrill voice sound through the house. "Eddie. How is he?" Alice asked as she blurred into the bathroom. Edward looked up, his surprise at not hearing her come in evident on his face, though it was gone in a second as he turned his attention back to Stefan.

"He's warm again" he answered just as Emmett came up with a glass of blood

"What is his temperature?" Jasper asked

"I didn't have time to check. He was going too fast between hot and cold I just couldn't" a distraught Edward answered again

"Its okay. Rose is getting father from the hospital. They'll be here soon. He'll be alright. You did a good job Eddie" Emmett comforted as he hugged him. "You did good, baby brother"

The activities of the past hour finally caught up to Edward and he was content to just sit back in Emmett's arms while his older siblings took charge.

* * *

Edward listened from his position lying across Emmett's lap as his father scolded Stefan upstairs.

"First, I owe you an apology Stefan. I was so engrossed in finding you and getting you home and later fixing Edward that I completely forgot what Jacob said about biting you. I should have remembered and for that I am sorry. That though, young man, doesn't mean you get to disregard such an important incident. You were very lucky I had blood from Klaus for just an occasion like this. I knew accidents are bound to happen but I didn't know you would be so brazen as to hide it from all of us. Do you realise that you could have died had Klaus blood not been available? It is a five hour flight from Virginia to Washington, and that's not including the drive time from Mystic Falls to Richmond or here to Port Angeles. The probability of you getting that blood on time would have been very low, and I'd have to explain to you brother why you were dead under my care. Can you comprehend what that would feel like?" Carlisle asked seriously as he stared down at the weak but much better looking boy in the bed. "This does not happen again, am I clear? You even get a paper cut you tell me. Am I understood?"

"I'm... I'm really sorry Carlisle" Stefan said somberly. "It won't happen again" he promised, voice breaking slightly as he sniffled and surreptitiously wiped away at his eyes.

Carlisle sighed and pulled him into a hug. "Its okay Stefan" he said into his hair. "I was just really scared, that's all"

Rosalie scoffed downstairs. "Really? The same old crying trick? Both of them are masters at this. Mom and dad don't stand a chance. They'll be wrapped around their little fingers. And we're gonna be wishing for the days when Stefan and Edward did not get along"

Edward smiled slyly into Emmett's stomach.

 _She had no idea how right she was._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: The vampire diaries and twilight belong to L.J Smith and Stephanie Meyer respectively. If they were mine… well the littler said, the better**_

 _ **Warning: may contain spanking in later chapters**_

* * *

 _Okay I am probably suffering from high fever or something because I've never written a chapter as fast as I have written this. And I know it's horrible but my sister tried to cook for me when my mom was away once, and yeah, I barfed. So I thought why not Stefan. Anyway, enjoy._

* * *

For his little stunt, Stefan was on bed rest for three days, and Esme wouldn't even let him get a cup of coffee. His complaints fell on deaf ears as she scolded him again for giving her such a scare and mothered him to death. It was something Stefan was not familiar with given his own mother dying at such a young age. The only other person who has shown him affection was his brother Damon, and now to have a whole family doting on him was a different but welcome feeling. Carlisle had taken a couple of days off to look after him, checking his temperature every now and then. The Cullen kids helped a lot too, keeping him company during his bed arrest. They watched movie marathons on his laptop, argued about the similarities between him and Edward-ok, that was Emmett and Jasper- and made him into a live mannequin, mostly Alice and Rosalie. They also loved to watch him sleep, and as much as Stefan wanted to pronounce himself okay after the first day, he was still a little unwell and was sleeping rather frequently. Damon had needed almost a day to fully get rid of the effects of the werewolf bite and Stefan knew in his mind that he needed more, much more. So after the first day of complaining, he welcomed the Cullens ministrations.

And then there was Edward. The budding friendship between Stefan and the youngest Cullen was a welcome surprise to everyone. They wanted both boys to be somewhat amicable and stop tearing at each others throats. They even hoped they'd be friends one day but no one anticipated they would be like twins in such a short time, especially after their very rocky start. Don't get them wrong, they were happy beyond relief but everybody dreaded the sure trouble they just knew would start brewing as soon as Stefan got the all clear to leave that bed. Like right now. Everyone's head jerked up at the sound of soft laughter ringing from Edward's room. Stefan's room was still being remodeled- _Alice's terms-_ after the blood wouldn't come out of his carpet and he had to share with Edward until then.

"Huh. Looks like Stefan's awake" Rosalie mused. They had left when Stefan had fallen asleep, though Edward stayed.

Alice nodded. "Yes. Should we send him some food or something?"

"That won't be necessary. He can just come downstairs" Carlisle spoke

"Really? He's all better?" Rosalie asked. She was second to Esme in the mothering

Carlisle nodded. "Yes. Your mom's whipping up a quick breakfast before we leave. You'll have to order lunch though. We'll be back late"

"Dad! Mom's cooking? She'll ruin her clothes. You have to make an impression. Take her. We'll make Stefan breakfast. Won't we guys?" Alice said

Apprehension filled Carlisle's face as his sons put away the consoles with a look of anticipation. His boys hardly left their video games for anything. The next words out of Jasper's mouth did nothing to calm him.

"I think that'll be fun, papa. We'll all help. How hard can it be anyway? Besides if we don't you're gonna be late" he gave a knowing smile

Carlisle knew Jasper was right. They were already running late. If they didn't leave soon, they'd be caught in traffic. But he still felt the need to make an argument. "But you can't even cook. You know what, just order something for him. Or better still take him out to that diner close to your school. Yes that'll be good" he said, placing several bills on the table

Emmett swiped the money and pocketed it before looking at his father. "Pops, we got this. Go show those stuck up doctors our hot mom. Preferably without syrup or ketchup all over her pretty dress. The Cullen chefs will give Stefan a meal he wouldn't forget"

"Go on" Rosalie made shooing motions. "Have fun"

"O...kay" Carlisle said unconvincingly. "Esme honey, we should get going"

"A few minutes honey. Just a few more minutes" Esme called from the kitchen, a split second before Jasper dragged her out. "Jazz, what are you doing? I have to..."

"You have to nothing mom" Alice said while draping a coat over her mother's shoulders. "We got this. Have fun" she said, pushing them out the door

Esme's confused voice rang out. "Carlisle what's going on?"

"I'll explain in the car darling. But we really should get going" Carlisle coaxed

"O-Ok. Uhm, you take care of your brother and Stefan okay. We'll be back before you know it. Bye". And then they were gone.

Immediately there was a bustle of activity in the living room.

"What're we making?"

"Pancakes"

"Waffles"

"Rolls"

"Spaghetti"

"Emmett, get the cookbook"

"We don't have one"

"Well download one"

"Oh right, so what else do we need?"

"Emmett, Jasper get out of the way! We're trying to cook"

"Well so are we Rose. What, did you think we were trying to have a dance with the pots and pans?"

"What's going on here?"

"Edward! You aren't supposed to be here. Go back up. We're making Stefan breakfast. If anything happened to you, mom would kill us so go on, shoo, back upstairs. We'll call you when we're ready" Alice personally escorted him back to the stairs, and waited until she was sure the confused boy was gone before turning back to the kitchen just in time to hear Jasper and Rosalie start to argue about flour.

Edward plopped down beside Stefan on the bed and immediately started laughing at the look of horror on his face. "I don't envy you Stefan"

* * *

Stefan stared in apprehension at the food before him. It was supposed to be breakfast, _supposed_ being the key word because what lay before Stefan was nothing short of a feast. He smiled shakily at the smiling Cullens before him and bit back the urge to laugh. They were a sight. Covered in flour from head to toe, even Alice who always looked impeccable had what looked suspiciously like ketchup splayed over her, Rosalie had some butter smeared across her face and Jasper and Emmett, well the little said the better. From the syrup in their hair to the eggshells stuck in various body parts, it was indeed better not to talk about the appearance of Jasper and Emmett. Edward though burst out laughing immediately he saw his siblings before whipping out his phone.

"This is too rich. I'm taking pictures"

"Thanks, guys. I don't think I can eat all this but thank you anyway" Stefan spoke quickly, partly to save Edward from whatever fate the glare Emmett was throwing at him promised.

"So, what do you think? Do you like it? We didn't know what you may have wanted so we prepared different kinds" Alice said

"You could have just asked him" Edward said in a not-so-polite voice

His siblings ignored him, still looking at Stefan. "Well, what are you waiting for? Sit. Dig in"

After another shaky smile that looked more like a grimace than anything, Stefan lowered himself into the chair. He put three pancakes in his plate, figuring they would be the least difficult to eat if they were not cooked right, and poured syrup over them, all the while very much aware of the Cullens gaze on him. He saw Rosalie place a cup of blood in front of Edward from the corner of his eye and heard him whine about not being hungry and Rosalie's forceful reply about how 'You'll drink it and you'll like it or so help me...'. All this while he tried to delay eating the pancakes as much as possible. Finally, when he couldn't delay any longer, he took a tentative bite. If he thought not much could go wrong with pancakes he was proved sorely wrong.

He didn't even know where to begin listing all the things wrong with the pancakes. Whether it was because someone had replaced sugar with salt or the pancakes had been left to cook too long or the other five million things that was basically wrong with the one bite he had taken. Not wanting to disappoint them after all the effort they put in, Stefan swallowed before cautiously pushing the plate away, silently thanking God that he was a vampire and he couldn't get stomach upset from a disastrous meal. He could feel Edward vibrating with laughter, trying to hide a smile behind the mug as he fetched some spaghetti onto his plate. To be on the safer side he added some rolls so if one was bad he could try the other. Even less enthusiastically, he picked up his fork and took a mouthful of the spaghetti. It took a second for the taste to hit the back of his throat, and he resisted the urge to throw up right there. Stefan was very much aware of the gazes on him as he reached for the rolls this time around. After another tentative bite he decided enough was enough and pushed the plate away while mustering the courage to make eye contact with the Cullens. Finally, when he couldn't bear the horrible taste in his mouth anymore, he spoke.

"I uhm...ahem...really appreciate the effort guys but uhh..."

"Pizza?" Edward asked around his mug

Stefan nodded his head vigorously. "That'd be great" he managed to force out before blurring out if the room. A second later, sounds of someone throwing up could be heard.

When Stefan came back downstairs, Jasper was taking away the last of the dishes. A wave of guilt washed over Stefan and he bowed his head. "I'm sorry" he said

"What are you apologizing for? Our bad cooking? Stefan, this is not you fault" Rosalie said, approaching Stefan from the kitchen

Emmett joined Jasper at the table and both grinned up at Stefan. "So on a scale of one to ten, how bad was the food?"

Stefan smiled back. "Negative fifty"

Emmett gave an exaggerated gasp. "We couldn't have been that bad. You're just being ungrateful"

"Emmett, I threw up" Stefan stated

"You have a weak stomach" he countered

Stefan would have probably said something more but Alice interrupted as she bounded into the room. "Ok, so breakfast didn't go according to plan. We'll just try harder at lunch"

Stefan paled and Edward dropped into the couch in gales of laughter.

* * *

Esme and Carlisle were beyond shocked when they opened the door and Stefan flew into their arms. They shared a confused look.

"Uh. Ok. Good to see you too Stefan"

"I'm so glad you're back, uncle Carlisle" Stefan mumbled into his shoulder

Carlisle's eyebrow flew into his hairline. Stefan had never addressed him that way before. True, the cover story was that he was the cousin of the Cullen kids, and Carlisle guessed that would make him his uncle biologically but none of them have thought about it like that before. And it did feel good to be addressed that way too, even if he was sure Stefan didn't know he was doing it.

"Stefan, honey, is everything ok? Do you feel sick again?" Esme asked worriedly, while feeling his forehead for signs of a fever.

Stefan shook his head as he lifted it from where he had it draped over Carlisle's shoulder. "No, I'm just glad to see you. Welcome back" he smiled at them

Carlisle and Esme looked at him apprehensively. Years of dealing with Edward and four other teens told them that was not the whole story. "Uh huh, of course you are. What happened? And where are the others?"

Just then Edward came down. "Hey mom. Hey dad" he greeted, kissing Esme's cheek. He laughed when he saw Stefan practically hiding behind his father while simultaneously trying to look through the window. After a questioning look from his parents, however, he spilled. "They cooked him breakfast. It was so horrible he puked. And then they decided they needed some practice so they made lunch too. That didn't go so well either" at this point Carlisle and Esme could hardly hear Edward. He was laughing so hard at Stefan's apparent misery. When he finally got himself under control, he continued. "Now Alice and Rosalie are making pasta, and Emmett and Jazz are hunting cos we're a little low on blood. And that's why Stefan is…." He erupted into laughter again, much to Stefan's increasing chagrin

"It's not funny" Stefan snarled at Edward

Carlisle sighed and pinched his nose at Edward's narrative. Esme had disappeared into the kitchen when Edward mentioned that they were trying to make pasta. He could hear Rose and Alice arguing about salt and rosemary in the kitchen. _Rosemary?_

"I'm really not hungry. Can you just tell them to stop?" Stefan was all out pleading, puppy eyes in full effect

Edward laughed again. "But why? They've gone to all that trouble for you. You should at least eat some"

Esme came back from the kitchen almost immediately and grabbed the phone. Carlisle raised an eyebrow, amused. "Darling?"

"I don't know what they are doing but that is not pasta" she said vehemently. "No wonder he threw up. I'm ordering Chinese, and Alice and Rose my kitchen better be spotless before nine pm. I hope you like Chinese sweetie" she added as an afterthought to Stefan.

Stefan, for his part, plopped down onto the couch beside Edward, relief apparent on his face.

"Thank you"

* * *

 _Like I said, definitely not my best work but please help a sick me out and review._


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: The characters of The Vampire Diaries and Twilight are the property of L.J Smith and Stephanie Meyer. I just borrow 'em**

* * *

Stefan dropped the last note of _Fur Elise_ amidst a very deep sigh. He and Edward were home alone. The other Cullens had gone to school and Esme and Carlisle were both at work. He sighed again as he glanced towards the couch, where Edward was just casually flipping through a magazine.

"I know. I'm bored as hell too. No need to be so mopey about it" he said without averting his gaze from the book. "I swear if you play _Fur Elise_ one more time, I will throw both you and the piano out the window, and that's saying something"

Stefan ignored the threat as he walked over and plopped himself beside Edward. "How long until we can return to school?"

"A little under two weeks" Edward answered without missing a beat, still flipping through the magazine

"We've been on suspension for only a week? It felt like more" Stefan moaned. "Maybe we should go visit Jacob" he said brightly

"We're not allowed outside the house"

"I think we can handle a little sneaking out"

"We live in a house filled with vampires Stefan. They'll smell the outside on us in a heartbeat"

"Let's play a game then. I'm sure I can find one of Jasper and Emmett's numerous video games around somewhere"

"We're grounded until further notice. No electronics"

"Well, Carlisle's not home. I'm sure we can get our phones form his office for a few minutes, at least catch up on…"

"It won't work" Edward interrupted swiftly

"Oh, come on. Live a little. We'll put them back long before he gets back. He will never know" Stefan practically begged

Edward flipped another page, and still without looking up, answered. "I assure you Stefan, dad will know if we go snooping around his office"

Stefan huffed and pulled the infuriating magazine out of Edward's hands, crumpling it and throwing it out the window. "I don't hear you coming up with any suggestions. All you have done so far is shut down all my ideas and read that stupid magazine. I mean come on Edward, aren't you bored? I feel like committing suicide just for something lively to do"

Edward was the one who sighed this time. "I'm not trying to be annoying Stefan. It's just, snooping around dad's office when you are grounded is a sure way of ending up over his knee with a blistering backside. I always get caught every time I try. Every time. This is the voice of experience speaking bro. don't try it"

Another heavy sigh. "Well what if we go outside for a while? Breathe some fresh air"

"I already told you Stefan. We are not allowed…"

"… to leave the property" Stefan interjected. "Last time I checked, Esme's garden is _**on**_ the property"

Edward turned to Stefan with a speculative look. "Where are you going with this?" he asked tentatively

"Nowhere' Stefan said innocently, raising his hands in the familiar gesture of surrender. "It's just that we've been cooped up in here for over a week and I want to see the garden. Like I said, we need some fresh air"

"So it has nothing to do with us staying in the garden for long enough to get the garden smell on us and then running off into the forest because the garden and forest smell similar?" Edward said with an eyebrow raise that looked so pretentiously serious Stefan had to fight to keep the grin off his face

"Maybe?" he shrugged instead, watching as a large smile broke out on Edward's face

"Man, you are really good"

Stefan shrugged again. "I had good teaching and learning materials. Damon's not an easy person to sneak away from"

"Come on. We have about five hours before the others get back from school" Edward moved towards the door. "You coming?"

"I thought you'd never ask"

* * *

"This is a bad idea Stefan" Edward mumbled from behind Stefan. "It wasn't part of the plan"

"Oh come on, live a little Eddie. We still got a couple of hours before anyone gets home and notices we're gone. Besides Alice and Rosalie are volunteering for the Halloween party at school. I don't even know why they are doing that now. It's over two weeks away" Stefan muttered in reply

"How do you know what Alice and rose are doing?"

"It's on their phone"

"You were able to get Alice and Rosalie's phone away from them for more than ten seconds?" Edward asked incredulously. "How did you manage…" he trailed off when he saw the look on Stefan's face. He gasped. "You didn't. You hacked their phone?" he asked in a whisper

"Damon taught me a few tricks. Besides, it's no big deal. It's not like I was spying on them or anything. And why are you whispering?"

"You're whispering too"

"Well you started it. Now come on, we have barely three hours before we have to head back. Your mother would be home at two. Let's make the most of it, yea?"

"Oh yeah" Edward crooned. "If we can't get electronic privileges at home, we can surely get some here. Try to keep up Stefan, God of War isn't going to play itself" he said smugly as he brushed past Stefan, all recent conservations slipping from his mind.

"Keep up? I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass Cullen"

"Keep talking Salvatore"

* * *

Two hours later, after a multitude of games with Edward narrowly leading the score, the boys decided it was time to head home. With vampire speed, they could head into the forest, spend enough time jumping from tree to tree and roughhousing to get the forest smell on themselves, and then make it back home with no one the wiser. It was a fool proof plan, and it would have worked too, if not for one tiny unprecedented detail. After spending so much time in the mall and having fun, they failed to notice the vast reduction in the population of the mall, and a foot outside the game room told them why.

"Shit" Stefan all but exclaimed

"We are so screwed" Edward lamented

"No kidding" Stefan added, looking at the bright sun outside while simultaneously pushing Edward into the shadows behind him. No wonder the mall had been deserted so quickly. It was a rarity for the sun to come out so beautifully in Forks, and every one took advantage of it. "Wait, that means…"

"Yes Stefan. The others are back home right now. Everyone. They already know we're gone" Edward completed dejectedly

"Shit" Stefan cursed again.

* * *

Carlisle dejectedly dropped the phone. "That was Billy Black. They are not there. They were never there". He looked at his children again. "Can any of you think of a place they could be?". All he got was four heads shaking.

Carlisle had made it home almost an hour ago to an empty house. There had been no sign of Edward or Stefan. He barely had time to panic before Esme arrived, and now he had to calm a panicking wife. Esme had stayed home to wait for the other kids while Carlisle searched every bit of their rather large property for their two delinquents. As vampires, they could see and hear over long distances, making Carlisle's search for the boys rather useless as he knew very well they were not there. But the action of searching calmed Esme and so he searched. It was only for a short while though as about ten minutes after Esme's arrival, four cars screeched to a halt, Alice jumping out of hers before it had fully even stopped.

"Did you find them? Do you know where they are?" she had asked quickly

Carlisle had shaken his head. "No. And they left their phones too"

"Okay, uh, we'll make some calls. Call some friends from school. Maybe… I don't know…" Rosalie started

"I'll call Alaska" Emmett announced to incredulous looks. "What? They may have gone to the Denali coven, who knows? It won't hurt to try"

"That is not a bad idea. You do that Em. I'll call Billy. They may have gone to see Jacob"

"We know if Eddie is seen in the sun by humans, the Volturi will come. But what about Stefan? He burns in the sun, right? What will happen to him?" Jasper asked

Carlisle stiffened. He had completely forgotten about Stefan's need to stay out of the sun too. "Stefan is not affected by the sun. A witch made him a ring that allows him to walk in the sun without burning to a crisp"

Esme saw the way her husband had stiffened before answering. She knew what he was thinking. "Have any of you seen Stefan without his ring before?" she asked her children. "I mean, does he take it off every night and put it on in the morning or something? Or is it constantly around his finger? I don't know" she gave a small sob as she threw her hands up in frustration. "What were they thinking?"

"I don't think he takes it off" Jasper tried to soothe his mother. "I've never seen him take it off Ma. I'm sure Stefan is okay. They're both okay, wherever they are"

* * *

"This is a bad idea" Stefan grumbled

"You got a better one?" Edward asked, remembering using those exact words when Stefan had suggested the mall. _Why hadn't he taken his own advice?_

"No. But…"

"No buts. Just give me the damn shirt"

"It won't work. You need to be fully covered Edward. Come on, we're in a mall. I'm sure we can find something"

Before Edward could say anything, Stefan had disappeared down one of the aisles. The population in the mall had reduced again drastically in the last five minutes, leaving it practically empty. He fumed silently as he waited for Stefan to return from wherever he had disappeared to. They were in so much trouble. He could already feel phantom twinges in his backside in fear of what awaited them when they got home. He was so lost in thought he didn't hear Stefan come back.

"Here, put these on" Stefan said, throwing some articles of clothing at him. "I compelled her to forget. Just put them on" he said to Edward's questioning look. "I know we don't have any money left, we didn't take enough. Besides, we are already in so much trouble, a little stealing won't do any harm"

Edward could not argue with his reasoning as he put on the hoodie and gloves. He had to agree this idea was better than his. He pulled up the hood. "Now what?"

"You are not showing any skin apart from your face, right?" Edward nodded. "Good. Lean into me slightly. When we get outside you hide your face in my shoulder, all right? If anyone asks, you're sick and I'm taking you home. When we get to the forest, we'll run the rest of the way, okay?"

Edward nodded again. "Okay. But we can't go into the forest. It's a sunny day in Forks. Almost every adult human being is outside enjoying the day. What do you think they'll say when they see two teenage boys, one supposedly sick enough to need help walking, heading towards the woods?". He waited for realization to dawn on Stefan before he continued. "We're taking a cab"

"Yeah, okay" Stefan agreed.

They walked slowly to the entrance, before Edward hid his face into Stefan's shoulder. They had to go about a hundred yards before they could hail a cab, breathing a collective sigh of relief as they slid into the backseat. It hadn't been that bad, considering they only had to talk to two concerned mothers. Stefan quietly gave directions to the cab driver as Edward laid down with his head in Stefan's lap, keeping away from the windows. It didn't take long to get home. They could hear quiet murmurings from inside as Stefan asked the cab driver to wait so he could get his 'sick cousin' inside and get his money.

* * *

 _Oh oh. The boys are in trouble and Stefan's about to receive his first spanking from Carlisle._


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: The characters of The Vampire Diaries and Twilight are the property of L.J Smith and Stephanie Meyer. I just borrow 'em**

* * *

The Cullens had all sped to the window when they heard a car veer off the main road and turn onto their road. No one came that way unless they themselves were going to or returning from work or school. On a subconscious level, they knew it was Stefan and Edward, but they didn't want to believe they would be foolish enough to risk such level of exposure by jumping into a cab on a sunny day. Suffice to say, they were both relieved and scared out of their minds when Stefan stepped out of the car with a bundled up Edward in tow. They had also heard Stefan ask the driver to wait for his money, so Esme grabbed some from her purse and handed it to Stefan as soon as they came through the door, while simultaneously pulling Edward into a relieved hug.

"What were you thinking?" Esme asked both boys while breathing into their necks. She had grabbed Stefan too as soon as he had paid off the cab driver and returned inside. "You can't… You can't do stuff like that, you hear me? You can't just disappear like that. Do you have any idea how wor… worried I was?" she said in shuddery breaths, barely keeping her composure

Stefan hadn't given that much thought to the sun coming out unexpectedly. Thanks to Emily, he had always been able to walk in the sun and therefore had taken it for granted. Edward, on the other hand, sniffled slightly as he hugged his mother. He felt a sudden chill settle in his stomach. As a vampire, he didn't have to deal with biochemical phenomena like adrenaline rush but if there was a vampire equivalent, he was feeling pretty close to the after effects right now. Being seen by humans in any other-worldly form was a big no-no by the Volturi, and their punishments were nothing to be trifled with. _Speaking of punishment_ …

"How much trouble are we in?" he asked his father quietly

Alice winced and Rosalie tsked at the question. Even Jasper and Emmett looked slightly sorry for them, though Emmett was closer to angry than sorry. Edward winced at Emmett's emotion. His eldest brother barely got riled up, and now he looked quite ready to strangle him. His suspicions were confirmed when his father spoke.

"Esme, darling, would you hand me Stefan please?" Carlisle asked in a faux patient voice

Esme nodded. "Okay" and started pushing him away from her.

Edward's eyes turned wide at the same time that Stefan asked a confused "What's going on?". He shook his head frantically. "No! Please no. We're sorry. Please mum"

Esme turned stern eyes to him. "You do the crime; you do the time baby. Now go on" she said to Stefan, giving him one more shove towards Carlisle. She dragged a protesting Edward behind her as she went to the dining table and grabbed a chair, pulling both the chair and her errant youngest back into the living room.

Stefan's face paled when Carlisle pulled him towards the couch. He thought he had been joking when he said he could spa-punish him. "Wait. You can't. this is… please… I'm sorry… Carlisle… oomph" the wind was knocked out of him when his stomach connected harshly with Carlisle's knees. He was distracted for just a second however, and he got back to pleading- more erratically this time- as his trousers and boxers were unceremoniously pulled to his ankles. "Wait wait wait wait wait. Ow. Fu…"

"You finish that thought and you're going to have an unsavory taste in your mouth in addition to this" Carlisle warned

Stefan shut up quickly, the only sound coming from him now being gasps of pain and cries of distress. He shrieked (it was a manly scream, thank you) as Carlisle struck a particularly sore spot, and tried to rein in his sobs so he could beg some more for leniency, only for Edward's tear filled voice to cut through.

"Ow mum, please. I'm s-sorry. S-sorry" the poor boy stuttered. He writhed and bucked and twisted and turned but Esme's hold stood firm. She usually didn't dole out punishment-that was her husband's job- but there were two delinquents this time, and she felt the need to impress upon her youngest child the fact that he couldn't scare her like that. And boy would he learn. She brought her hand down on the naked behind before her again to the yelp of Edward.

Stefan felt a wave of guilt wash over him at Edward's cries. _**He**_ had talked him into this. This was his fault. The guilt passed quickly though as Carlisle's hard hand brought him back to his own predicament; Edward quickly forgotten. "Uncle Carlisle please" he finally managed, stilling Carlisle's hand, though he didn't notice. "Pl-Please. I swear it won-won't happen ag-again. I s-swear. I swear. Please"

"What did you do wrong?"

"I… I…. we …."

"Edward?" Esme tapped his backside warningly

"We snuck out" Stefan gave in a rush. "We left the house when we were not sup-supposed to. When we were groun-grounded"

"And?"

"And we engender… danger… dangerous…life…" Esme smiled despite the circumstances as Edward tried to form coherent thought. This always happened when he was spanked. She tried to help him.

"You endangered your lives"

"Uh huh"

"Have you learnt your lesson then, or should we continue?"

"Yes… No…. learnt. Learnt les-son please"

"Okay then" Carlisle said. "Only ten more. Count them out"

"Nooooo" Stefan wailed. "But…but…"

"But nothing. Come on, count"

 **SLAP**

"Owwww. One"

 **SLAP**

"T-two"

 **SLAP**

"Three" Stefan whispered faintly. "Please"

 **SLAP**

"Fo-four. Four. Ow"

 **SLAP**

"Fiiiivvve. Oh god"

 **SLAP**

"Ssss…. Owww…. ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow"

"Edward I didn't hear the count"

"Six. Please six"

 **SLAP**

"Sev… sev… seven. Seven. Mama please. I'm sorry"

 **SLAP**

"Edward?" Esme prompted but all she got was loud sobs and quaking shoulders. She prompted again but Edward just couldn't catch his breath long enough to bawl out the count. Her boy had learnt his lesson. She knew she shouldn't leave a punishment unfinished but it wasn't like Edward would notice they ended at eight. Stefan had stopped counting at four and since she had stopped with Edward just a second before Carlisle stopped with Stefan, she knew he had ended at eight as well.

Edward wriggled out of his mother's grasp as soon as he was clothed and dived straight into Rosalie's arms. This was not a surprise. When Edward was punished, his punisher was his enemy number one for all of thirty minutes as he sought comfort somewhere else. Usually it was rejecting Carlisle for Esme but today, well, today was not a usual day. His eldest sister rubbed his back and whispered words of comfort as he sobbed into the crook of her neck while rubbing at his aching bottom like his life depended on it.

"It hurts Rose. It hurts"

"I know" Rosalie comforted. "It's okay"

Stefan just quietly sobbed in Emmett's arms. Unlike Edward who went to someone other than his punisher to get comfort, Stefan didn't want anyone near him at all when he just got a spanking. It always took some cajoling on Damon's part to get him to accept comfort but once he did he didn't let go easily. After the spanking, he had knelt at Carlisle's feet and snarled toothily at anyone who came near him. Emmett had to struggle with him for almost a full minute before he succumbed to the comfort he so desperately needed. He had settled on the couch with Stefan in his arms as he tried to make sense of the hiccupped ramblings coming out of his mouth. Emmett could swear he counted at least ten different languages that Stefan voiced his grievances in. He just continued to hold him as Alice joined him to calm the distraught boy down, Jasper also helping Rosalie with Edward. Their parents had long since left the living room; Esme to the kitchen-probably to cook Stefan a late lunch- and Carlisle to his study, though they knew their father would come down again in about thirty to forty minutes, when Edward would now want no one but his father to comfort him.

* * *

Truthfully, a little over half an hour later -with Esme still in the kitchen- Carlisle came back downstairs. He frowned a little when Edward didn't immediately turn to him. His boy was predictable like that. He always turned to his father when he came down the stairs, a fresh wave of tears cascading down his face as Carlisle takes him into his arms and starts whispering sweet nothings into his ears.

"Rosalie?" he said questioningly

She turned around carefully and peered at him over the ginger hair tickling her nose. "He's asleep"

"What?" Carlisle asked, instinctively dropping his voice to a whisper

"He's sleeping" Alice answered this time. "Actually, both of them are. It's so adorable"

Carlisle turned to see Stefan all but sprawled out over Emmett and soundly sleeping. "But, he fell 'asleep' just a couple of-eight months- ago. The last time before that was…"

"'99" Emmett interrupted

"And before that…"

"1980" Alice added helpfully

"Wow. This is…" Carlisle began before being interrupted once more

"They're good for each other" Rosalie concluded

"That is a scary thought" Jasper said, miming a shudder for effect

"You should get them upstairs" Carlisle said after ruffling both sleeping heads, an amused look crossing his face when it earned him a glare from Emmett as Stefan mumbled and moved slightly before settling back down to sleep. "Put them to bed"

"It's okay" Emmett said. "I like the feeling of him in my arms. It's not like I'm going to get tired or anything"

Carlisle rolled his eyes. _He was so whipped._ "Rose?"

"It's fine dad. Let him stay down here. Nothing's gonna happen. Besides, he might wake up if we tried moving him"

Carlisle rolled his eyes again. _Yea, that was the reason. "_ Ok. Suit yourselves. I'm going to go do some paperwork" he said, kissing both slumbering heads before heading up the stairs.

Esme smiled softly at the scene before disappearing back into the kitchen, putting the food she had prepared for Stefan away. She would microwave it for him later.

* * *

 _Poor poor Stefan and Edward. They had it coming. Please read and review_


End file.
